09 February 2021

Keith Curle disappointed as Northampton suffer loss to relegation rivals Wigan

09 February 2021

Northampton manager Keith Curle was shocked by his side’s lack of fight and inability to do the basics after their desperate 1-0 home defeat to relegation rivals Wigan.

The Cobblers, coming off a commendable draw at Accrington on Saturday, were completely out-of-sorts and delivered one of their worst performance during Curle’s time in charge of the club.

They did not manage a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes and slipped to second from bottom in League One after Callum Lang scored the only goal of the game eight minutes from time.

“I’ve got to be honest and tell you exactly what I think because I think that’s what you deserve,” said Curle.

“I was very pleased with how we played at Accrington on Saturday but tonight, we just didn’t do the basics. We didn’t respect the simplicity of what needed to be done and we didn’t do it well enough.

“We got out-fought and we got out-challenged and that’s the minimum we expect. We know where we’re at and we know what needs to be done but tonight, individually, we didn’t do it.

“We didn’t show that fight, that hunger and that desire to win a game of football. Yes, it was a mistake that led to the goal – a basic mistake – but before that, there were too many basics that we just didn’t do right.”

Wigan boss Leam Richardson was relieved to see his side end their five-game winless run and move up to 21st in League One, boosting their survival prospects.

“I’m made up for the lads tonight,” said Richardson. “I thought they worked tirelessly hard after coming off a very disappointing result at the weekend.

“To get a result away at Northampton, who offer a tough test, was very pleasing. They stood up to it very well and deserved the result.

“I thought Callum worked hard all night. We set up with a gameplan that we thought would give us moments in the game and allow our flair players to show their quality.

“We certainly had to match Northampton’s endeavour and style of play and defensively we did that. Then we got a moment of quality and thankfully it dropped to Callum and he took his chance very well.

“We watched them at the weekend and we changed the shape because we felt that was something that would work for us and give us a few chances.

“There’s still all to play and it’s our job to stay positive, roll our sleeves up and fight as hard as we can to make sure we get the results to stay in this division.”

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