Wigan Thump Sorry Saddlers

Another game and another defeat.

OK lets be realistic here we never expected anything against a far superior club whose wage budget would pay our players for a year or two but my god its gut wrenching to watch those eleven players on the pitch showing no pride for the badge that they wear. With new boss Dean Keates watching from the stands, he now understands how big of a job he has of keeping us in this division and what needs to happen in the summer.

For far too long we have supported and backed these players but now their godfather Jon Whitney has left its time for them to show what they can do for the remaining eight games – worryingly these players albeit Oztumer are under contract for next season so unless Keatesy can work his magic we are stuck with them for another year at least!

Its not just the effort that is missing, its the quality and squad depth. We find ourselves with eight games to go with a side which has no experience, no pace, no wingers and no quality – if there was a lasting legacy Jon Whitney left then this squad resembles the mess he has got us into.

Wigan’s front three of Coughlan, Jacobs and Vaughan were far superior last night and cut through the Saddlers back line like a knob of butter.

Dunkley had two chances in the opening ten minutes as we failed time and time again to deal with set pieces but luckily for us his free headers were off target.

Jacobs opened the scoring for Wigan following a superb cross which went straight across the face of the goal and he tapped in at the back post. Leahy was nowhere to be seen, Guthrie was flat footed and Roberts let the ball slip through his legs. Whilst it was a quality pass, the defence have to do better!

Fulton then made it 2-0 just four minutes later. The ball found its way to Fulton on the edge of the box and he drilled it into the bottom corner from 20 yards out.

The third goal was the most horrific of the three. Corner comes in, Roberts spills it, defence fail to clear on two occasions and Dunkley rifles it in from close range.

If there were three goals to epitomise how bad our defenders have been coached by our caretaker manager it was these. Lets hope Keates can organise these in two months more than Sharps has done since hes been here!

The Saddlers had just two efforts on target – both Morris efforts, both far too easy for the Wigan keeper.

Dean now has ten days with this heap to try and get some confidence back into a side who have lost five out the last six games and just hope that results go our way so we can stay in League 1 next term – at this minute we are relying on Rochdale to fluff their games in hand, MKs difficult run in and Wimbledons poor form in the hope that those three spaces are taken up before we even balls it up ourselves.

We have Bury, Northampton and Wimbledon at home so if we are to stay up a big chunk of our eight points must come from those games.

I think Keates realised last night the sheer magnitude of the job he has here. Lets get those eight points and lets try and reinvigorate a club which has gone so far back in the past two years!

Over to you Deano, good luck mate – you are going to need it!