'Unluckiest season I've ever known', insists Wigan Athletic skipper

Not only have they had to go toe to toe with clubs enjoying budgets that dwarf their own, Morsy says they’ve had to defy Lady Luck as well.

All of which means the players can reflect on a job very well done ahead of the last two games of the season.

“We got there in the end,” Morsy told the Wigan Post.

“But I have to say this has been the unluckiest season I’ve ever been involved in...it’s been incredible.

“Everything went against us at Leeds – the penalty that shouldn’t have been, the red card that shouldn’t have been, the penalty we should have had...

“The Norwich game before that, there was the Leon Clarke in stoppage-time that should have won us the game but was disallowed.

“The Reading game when all three of their goals should have been disallowed...and that’s just in the last month or so.

“It’s been absolutely unbelievable really, and it’s credit to us we’ve been able to overcome all that and stay in the division.”

Latics got off to a flyer at the start of the campaign, and were in third spot at the end of September before injuries bit and the wheels came off.

Indeed, during the first half of the Good Friday clash at Leeds, Latics actually slipped into the bottom three ‘in-play’ – for the first time all season – before pulling off another great escape.

“We had a decent buffer to the bottom three for most of the season,” acknowledged Morsy.

“But it took us to get dragged in to within distance, down on our knees, for us to say ‘hold on a minute’.

“We knew going into Norwich and Leeds that we had to get something.

“We couldn’t just write those off, rely on other teams losing and put everything on the last three games.

“We found such a fighting spirit and seven points from three games says it all.”

Having been manager Paul Cook’s trusty lieutenant for a number of years, going back to their days at Chesterfield, Morsy had seen much of the season before.

“I’ve been with the manager for a few years, and his teams always seem to start and finish fast!” he smiled.

“On a serious note, the home form’s been brilliant, apart from a blip around Christmas.

“The away form... we’ve had a blip since August really that’s hampered our efforts!

“Thankfully, it’s all come together at the end of the season, and it’s up to us to try to come back even stronger next year.”