Wigan Athletic's fate 'in our own hands', says Leam Richardson

Wigan Athletic are four points clear of the relegation zone with two matches to go.

Their safety could be secured today – even if they don’t beat the Tigers – but Richardson knows a defeat could drag them back into trouble if other results go against them.

And asked whether he had warned his players against complacency, the Latics chief said: “Absolutely. In no uncertain terms.

“We’ve had a couple of wins recently and each time, the message was, ‘Let’s get back to work, how can we improve?’. It was about staying on the task ahead.

“It’s exactly the same focus now, it’s the same mindset we’ve had over the last few months.

“The best thing is we’ve got it in our own hands and we need to maintain our standards.”

Hosts Hull City are celebrating having secured promotion back to the Championship.

But Richardson has been in a similar position himself, and expects the Tigers to be going all-out to claim the title rather than easing off the gas.

“It’s great to be promoted, I’ve been lucky to experience it, it’s a fantastic achievement and it’s even more special to be champions,” he said.

“They’ll be trying hard to be champions... and fingers crossed they can be champions next Sunday!

“Congratulations to them on the promotion, they’ve had a fantastic season, they’re a free-scoring team, they carry a real punch going forward.

“But we’ll certainly try and match that challenge and impose ourselves on the game. They deserve their promotion.

“You want to represent yourself as a title-winning team, there isn’t much riding on it for them in terms of

getting promoted but there is in terms of winning the league.”