Wigan Athletic chief: Seeing youngsters leave is 'hard to take'

Leam Richardson has lifted the lid on the pain of having to bid farewell to Wigan Athletic’s long-term future – for the short-term benefit of the club.
Leam RichardsonLeam Richardson
Leam Richardson

Latics cancelled the contracts of youngsters Patrick Webber, Joe Piggott, Divin Baningime and Emeka Obi by mutual consent, with Charlie Jolley joining Tranmere and then Ollie Crankshaw moving to Bradford minutes before last night’s transfer deadline.

That freed up enough space for Richardson to bring in experienced reinforcements in Curtis Tilt, Scott Wootton, George Johnston, Corey Whelan, Zach Clough, Funso Ojo, Jamie Proctor and Viv Solomon-Otabor.

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But the whole process has left the acting manager with a sour taste in his mouth.

“Unfortunately the situation we’re in leads us to make decisions we wouldn’t want to make in different circumstances,” he told Wigan Today.

“And I don’t think a lot of people still fully understand the stipulations surrounding the position we’re in, which is impacting the decisions we’re making.

“With the restrictions being placed on us by the EFL and administration etc, we have to think about the best outcome for all parties .

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“With these lads, I’ve not been giving any advice that I wouldn’t have given to my own son... I’ve tried to be as open and transparent as possible.”

When asked whether it was the worst aspect of the job, Richardson replied: “Absolutely, 100 per cent.

“Because they’re only at the start of their journey. We’ve already lost so many youngsters in this process... Alfie Devine, Joffy, Jensen Weir at the start, and then a few more recently.

“Even now we’re got people circling, trying to pick some of the others off, and that is definitely one of the worst aspects of the situation we’re in.

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“Yes, we’re made up we’re still here as a club, and fingers crossed we can get a buyer as soon as possible.

“But the decisions regarding the young lads having to leave... it’s hard to take.”

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