Believe

From the depths against Cardiff to utter ecstasy against Preston it was quite the week for Wigan Athletic.

A season that promised so much in the early part of the year had threatened to turn into something far more mediocre.

The defeat to Bolton in October clearly hit hard, yes there’s been a unbeaten run and some important wins but the overall feeling was of performing ‘within’ ourselves.

That all changed on Friday night at Deepdale, Preston went far stronger than many expected but on a cold night in Lancashire you wouldn’t have known which side was in the lower reaches of League One and who were chasing a Championship play-off place.

Latics were that good, they went toe to toe with Preston and were by far the better side.

Ryan Lowe has spoken about the players believing in themselves a bit more over the festive period, it was a battle Shaun Maloney struggled with as well during last season.

There shouldn’t be any lack of belief among this side and this squad now. They know they’re better than they’ve shown over the last few months and they also know they can mix it with sides higher than them.

The win over Preston was no smash and grab, 1-0 flattered Preston.

Indeed if Callum Wright had scored his penalty a 0-2 score line would not have looked out of place, Maleace Asamoah was a constant danger when he came on and after winning the penalty should have been awarded a second a few minutes later.

Ryan Lowe who has flacked a fair bit of criticism over the last few weeks got his tactics absolutely spot on at Preston and deserves great credit for giving the players that belief that they could take on Preston and get the better of them. This must be the turning point now; it also has to be the standard.

These players are good enough – it’s up to them to go out and show us over the next few months. The reward for such an impressive win on Friday is an away tie with Arsenal. Arguably the pick of the round, it’s a great draw in every possible way.

It should result in a big pay day for the club along with giving younger supporters an opportunity to see us play a side like Arsenal, that they may not have witnessed previously.

The celebrations on Friday night were something to witness and I’m sure Lowe enjoyed going back to his old club and getting one over them. But those celebrations will look quiet and respectful compared to Saturday if Lowe and his players can give us back-to-back victories.

Bolton have struggled over recent weeks but they are still one of the favourites for promotion and it’ll be on us to show that we can match them.

Steven Schmacher may have broken the hoodoo we had over our friends from Horwich over the last few months but with home advantage and a Bolton side struggling for form we’ll never have a better time to get one more over our friends from over the hill.

If they do that in front of a partisan crowd, it really could get our season back on track.

To quote an oft used phrase ‘Believe’.

Sean Livesey

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