Wigan Athletic 'the biggest team in League One' - Josh Magennis

Josh Magennis believes his new Wigan Athletic team-mates have what he considers to be the two key factors needed for promotion – belief and team spirit.
Josh MagennisJosh Magennis
Josh Magennis

And the Northern Ireland international sees no reason why his spell in League One – after leaving Hull and dropping out of the Championship – shouldn’t be short-term.

“Obviously you want to stay as injury-free as possible,” he said after signing a two-and-a-half year deal at the DW.

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“But the big thing you need is belief, and I’ve already seen this group has a lot of that, as well as a lot of camaraderie.

“Speaking to the gaffer, speaking to people behind the scenes, those two things seem to be a massive part of the culture here, everybody’s together, and that goes a long way – especially when times are tough.

“There’s a lot of games coming thick and fast, and being the biggest team in League One, you are a big scalp for other sides.

“The expectations are high, but I think the squad here has enough to match those expectations, and have a very successful season.”

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It was a real ‘sliding doors’ moment when Magennis last faced Latics – for Hull, in the penultimate game of last season.

“I remember the game against Wigan last year when Hull managed to secure the league title,” he said.

“At the time, it was obviously touch and go whether we – I mean Wigan, now – would survive or not.

“I just remember Jamie Jones letting out an almighty sigh of relief when the other scores had come through, and it stayed with me

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“Given everything that had happened – with the administration, and most of the players moving on – it was unbelievable really that the side managed to stay in the division.

“And given there were hardly any players on the books at the start of the summer, what the manager and his staff have managed to achieve this season is nothing short of remarkable.

“We’re in a fantastic position . We’ve got plenty of games in hand, but we know we still have to win those games.

“But given the quality of the players and the squad here, there’s no reason why we can't do that.”

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Magennis is also hoping to hit the ground running with Latics, having signed in time to be in contention for this weekend’s trip to Doncaster.

“I am hoping to be involved this weekend,” he added.

“Obviously with all the sports science involved these days, you have to tick all kinds of boxes.

“But I’ll be assessed and I’ll train, and if the gaffer thinks I’m fit enough to do a job, then I’d love to be involved.”

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