Wigan Athletic ‘in a good place to attack run-in’, says Sam Morsy

This weekend’s game against promotion-chasing Middlesbrough is the first of three in seven days for Latics.

Next Tuesday sees them play their game in hand at play-off chasing Derby, with a trip to relegation-threatened Reading to come on Saturday week.

If Latics can extend their unbeaten run of four matches – already a season high – they’ll take a huge step towards securing their Championship status.

And the skipper says last weekend’s last-gasp draw against rock-bottom Ipswich could turn out to be a huge point gained in the grand scheme of things.

“We’ve managed to maintain that buffer to the bottom three, and we’ll take that all day long, through to the end of the season,” Morsy told the Wigan Post.

“You’re always trying to build momentum, and that’s now four games unbeaten which keeps the points tally ticking on.

“We’ve shown again the character in the squads, to be able to fight back from what we felt was an injustice and get the goal back.

“It keeps the mood in the camp positive heading into a massive week.

“We’ve shown all season that this group is capable of big wins, and we’ll go into the next three games with no fear whatsoever.”

Latics took time to get into their stride against an Ipswich side that played for 65 minutes with 10 men after the sending-off of Jonas Knudsen.

But substitute Joe Garner’s leveller came in the nick of time, and underlined the strength in depth at the DW Stadium.

“The lads we brought in during January have given us a lift, as have the number of players coming back after injury,” acknowledged Morsy.

“And it’s a massive luxury to be able to bring on players like Garns, Powelly and Callum, as we did at the weekend.

“When you need to have a go, you need a goal, you’re looking for that kind of attacking threat to be able to make a difference.

“We’ve got a fully-fit squad now for the first time in months.

“And we’re in a good place to be able to attack the final part of the campaign.”

Morsy switched to centre-back against Ipswich to allow an extra attacking player on to the field, and he feels Wigan’s never-say-die attitude warranted the late leveller.

“When they go down to 10 men, you’d probably expect us to win convincingly,” he added.

“They then get a penalty against the run of play...concentration levels in this league are everything...and they are in front.

“We’re then knocking on the door, cross after cross going in, and you start to think it’s not going to go your way.

“But then the subs come on, Garns gets the goal, and you take a point and move on.

“Ipswich are fighting for their lives at the bottom, they’ve got their last few breaths in them if you like.

“They’re still competitive, and they’ll take points off a few times with that mentality.

“It’s a good point, a good point, and we’ll aim to build on that in the games to come.”