Leam Richardson calls on Wigan players not to get carried away by Shrewsbury win

Posted Wednesday, April 21, 2021 by PA

Wigan caretaker boss Leam Richardson insists his players will not be getting carried away after their fourth straight win put them on the cusp of League One survival.

Will Keane and Callum Lang’s first-half goals were followed by a second-half Ollie Norburn volley, but they hung on for a 2-1 win at Shrewsbury and are now four points clear of the drop zone.

And if results go their way over the next week they could secure safety, but Richardson said: “We can’t get carried away and everyone will keep grounded.

“It is up to us now to get on with the task in hand and we have to look as quickly as we can towards Saturday.

“Tonight was a vital win. I think we’ve gathered a bit of luck in recent months and that came to fruition tonight, because Shrewsbury were fearless in the second half and asked questions, and Jamie Jones had to make some big saves.

“His save at the end can be a season-defining moment really. A few weeks ago the performances were there but we were falling on the wrong side of the result, but tonight we had that bit of luck.

“If I’m critical of myself and the players, we should have maybe killed it off and scored a third, but I thought in the first half we were the better side and on the balance of play we deserved to win.

“Our big players had to answer questions and they did, and we were able to see it through.”

Stand-in Shrewsbury boss Aaron Wilbraham challenged his side to put things right in the final five games.

He said: “In the second half we were excellent, but we have to do that through the first half. In the second we didn’t give them an inch and everything was ours, but we have to do that for 90 minutes and not 45.

“On Saturday we did well in the first and wasted the second half and tonight it was the opposite, and we have to change that.

“To concede from a corner is disappointing. We’ve been good on corners since the gaffer and I came in, we’ve been resolute on them and strong.

“But lately we’ve been conceding and we have to stop that, because we don’t want to become a weak target for these things. We need to take more responsibility.

“We had chances in the first half and I think being 2-0 was harsh, but, we have to have a stronger mindset, be more resolute and more ruthless in everything we do.

“The second half the lads gave everything, and we’ve had a good chat about the last five games and putting things right to get back to what we’re good at.”