Wigan Athletic set simple winning target

Latics, who host Sunderland at the DW tonight, are a point adrift of safety heading into the last half-dozen matches.

While three victories would probably be enough, and four wins certain to do it, Dodoo is targeting maximum points to ensure Latics keep their fate in their own hands.

“In my personal opinion, we have to win every game - that’s the only way you can look at it,” he told Wigan Today.

“We can’t be leaving it to other teams to affect what happens to us, and looking for favours elsewhere.

“We have to go into each game with the mentality we have to win, and see where that takes us.

“There’s six games left, starting with Sunderland, and that’s six wins we’re capable of picking up.

“You can’t go in thinking three or even four wins might do it, because if other results don’t go our way it won’t be enough.”

Despite their surprising weekend defeat against Charlton, Sunderland remain in the three-way battle for automatic promotion along with Hull and Peterborough.

But Dodoo says Latics have no reason to be fearful.

“We’ve got quality players throughout the squad, and I’ll always back our players to get a result if we’re on our game,” he said.

“We’ve got players who played at some big clubs, with plenty of experience, and we know we can beat any team in this division at any time.

“Sunderland are a big club, but Wigan is also a big club too. They’re going for promotion, but we’re fighting for our lives at the bottom, so it brings a different dimension to the game.

“When the whistle goes the stature of both clubs goes out of the window, and it’s all about getting the job done on the day.”

Latics will be boosted by the 4-1 drubbing of Doncaster on Saturday that breathed new life into their survival challenge.

Dodoo set them on their way with a goal inside three minutes, which vindicated manager Leam Richardson’s decision to recall him.

“I’m always ready to step in and show what I can do,” he added. “And thankfully I was able to do that from the off at Doncaster.

“We went into the game knowing we needed three points, because we’re running out of games.

“It was an opportunity to kick us off on a run, and hopefully we can build on that against Sunderland.

“It was obviously important to get off to a good start, and thankfully the goal came inside three minutes.

“The other games we’ve gone in front early – MK Dons, Plymouth – we’ve also gone on to win well, so it was good to keep that going and it’s a good habit to be in.”

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