Wigan Athletic win was for all staff made redundant, insists Paul Cook

Latics were controversially placed into administration last Wednesday by the club's owners, which led to the majority of non-playing staff being laid off on Monday night.

Cook's side are also facing a 12-point deduction which would see them drop from the safety of mid-table back into the relegation dogfight.

But the players showed what they're made of to hit back from Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Brentford to beat QPR thanks to Kieffer Moore's first-half goal.

"Where do we start...what a week this has been," assessed Cook, taking a huge deep breath.

"We had to win tonight - we had to win a game of football.

"There was no other result for us tonight other than to win.

"We were flat on Saturday, and you have to give the lads that.

"They're not as flat as those who've been made redundant, that's for sure.

"We had to win tonight for them - for those people who've lost their jobs, for the club, for the town. And we did that.

"We know everyone outside will have written us off with the 12-point deduction, we're relegated.

"Well we're not relegated, we're still fighting."

When asked to sum up the character of his side, who dug deep in the second in the face of incessant Rangers pressure to hang on, Cook shook his head in admiration.

"We've never questioned the attitude and the character of this group," he added.

"Now all of a sudden our game management's excellent, our decision-making in the last 10-15 minutes is better.

"We still miss chances to make games safe, which would be nice to get right.

"Unfortunately, tonight was always going to be nervy.

"But that one was for every single member of staff who now doesn't have a job.

"It's been the worst, toughest week of my football career by far.

"But to see what's happened to a lot of people has made my job even worse - because I'm lucky enough to still be employed."