Rob Kelly dedicates Wigan’s long overdue win to Leam Richardson

Posted Sunday, November 13, 2022 by PA

Rob Kelly admitted Wigan’s victory over Blackpool – their first in eight Sky Bet Championship matches – was dedicated to departed boss Leam Richardson.

The Latics surprisingly parted company with Richardson on Thursday, with Kelly stepping up from assistant to take charge of a vital six-pointer.

And after trailing at half-time to Gary Madine’s rocket, Wigan showed tremendous character in the second half to equalise through James McClean – straight from a corner – and then win it right at the death through ex-Seasiders defender Curtis Tilt.

It was perhaps harsh on Blackpool, who played for 73 minutes with 10 men after skipper Marvin Ekpiteta was sent off for bringing down Charlie Wyke, but Kelly was just happy to get the job done.

“It was one big collective effort,” he said. “It was difficult, when the opposition had a man sent off very early.

“We’ve not been on a great run, so confidence wasn’t massively high, although I don’t think we’ve ever lost track of what direction we’re going in.

“We just tried to keep things as calm as we possibly could, made one or two tweaks at half-time, but nothing we wouldn’t have done with Leam still here.

“I told the guys at half-time not to panic, we still had 45 or even 50 minutes to get the job done, and just to move the ball around a bit quicker.

“The Championship is a slog, the schedule is so hectic, and I did feel the longer it went, I did feel gaps would open up for us and we would get chances.

“We needed to try and play with a bit more width and get the ball into the box, and fortunately today that’s what happened.”

Kelly also revealed Richardson had been in the thoughts of the players and coaching staff since his exit.

“I went for a coffee with Leam the other morning, I know him from way back, he was in one of my first youth teams as a youngster at Blackburn,” he added.

“By the way, he’ll be delighted with the win, because that’s just the kind of guy he is.

“It’s been a difficult few days for everyone because he was so central to everything that was going on here – on and off the pitch.”

For Blackpool manager Michael Appleton it was more woe, with the side now slipping to second-bottom of the table.

“It’s been the story of a period of time now over the last couple of months,” he said. “What could go wrong has gone wrong and it’s made life difficult, there’s no doubt about it.

“The sending-off has happened and the game changes.

“We gave ourselves a lifeline with a fantastic goal, but the red (card) just made it really difficult.”

Appleton was also subjected to chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ in the dying seconds.

“It’s understandable, that’s football,” he added. “I’ve been in this game for the best part of 30 years now. I’m 47 in December and I’ve been playing since the age of 16, I know what it’s about.

“I don’t go into work worrying about those things, I don’t come into the game worrying about it.

“Today the focus was on trying to win the game and obviously you have to change your focus a little bit after 17 minutes when we’re down to 10 men.

“That’s what I will continue to do.”