Wigan Athletic determined to put past week behind them as Ryan Lowe airs 'get back to those levels' desire
Wigan Athletic boss Ryan Lowe insists his side ‘haven’t become a bad team overnight’, and are determined to put the disappointment of the last seven days behind them this weekend.
The Latics have suffered back-to-back defeats, having tasted a miserable 4-1 derby defeat at Bolton Wanderers last Saturday before being knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening after losing 2-0 to fellow League One outfit Wycombe Wanderers.
Wigan are looking to return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon when they host fourth-placed Cardiff City at the Brick Community Stadium, with Lowe keen to get back to the levels they displayed when they eased past a strong Doncaster side 3-0 just a fortnight ago.
“We haven’t become a bad team overnight,” Lowe said. “We’re a good team aspiring to be a very good team.
“We’re nine games in, and we’ve evaluated the season, and we’re doing okay. I think we probably should be on 15 points rather than 12, but we’re sitting where we probably deserve to be sitting at the moment.
“We want to get more wins, especially at home. We have an opportunity to do that on Saturday against a very good team, but it’s about what we do now and our reaction.
“A week can hurt you in football, and we’re hoping to put the disappointment behind us from Saturday and Tuesday this weekend. The lads are a good group. We haven’t gone to town on them because the lads know when they’ve played well, and when they haven’t.
“We will keep working with the group to try and be a very good team. At the moment, we are a good team, and haven’t become a bad team overnight. The next game is always the most important one, and we are all looking forward to Saturday afternoon.”
Lowe has made no secret about making their home ground a fortress this season, but the Latics boss is under no illusions of the tough task at hand when high-flying Cardiff come to town this weekend, with the Welsh club having knocked Premier League opposition Burnley out of the Carabao Cup midweek.
"When the teams at the top end of the division come to town, it’s always going to be tough,” said Lowe. “Cardiff are a fantastic club, with a fantastic fanbase. They have a good manager in Brian Barry-Murphy, and they have some good players.
“They are unfortunate to be in League One, as I thought they had a chance of staying in the Championship. They are down here for a reason, and they’ll be hoping to get out of the division like most teams will.
“We respect every team that comes to the Brick Community Stadium, but we can’t fear them. They’ll be well-coached and organised, but I want to see the Wigan Athletic team I’ve seen against Doncaster, Stockport, Lincoln and Northampton. I want us to get back to those levels.
“If we give a good account of ourselves, we’ve got a chance of beating any team in the division, and hopefully that can be the case on Saturday.
"Teams will fear our home record. It’s up to us to sustain it and make sure we stake that claim of not getting beat at home. That’s going to be the message to the lads on Saturday. We’ll have the fans behind us, and hopefully, it can be a good afternoon.
“We’ve got Christian Saydee back, who will be a big plus for us. He’s been a miss in the last few games, and hopefully we’ll have Jason (Kerr) back. We’ll give him the best possible chance.”