Wigan Athletic boss hints at changes ahead of Blackpool visit
Blackpool will host fellow League One strugglers Wigan Athletic at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.
Wigan Athletic manager Gary Caldwell has admitted he could need to make changes to his side’s preparations for Saturday’s visit to League One rivals Blackpool.
The Latics are level on points with Ian Evatt’s men ahead of their Bloomfield Road meeting but both sides are sitting perilously above the relegation zone and that makes this weekend’s clash one of the most important games of the season. Caldwell’s side will actually head into the game on the back of claiming two wins in their last three fixtures after securing a pair of 1-0 wins against Luton Town and Huddersfield Town.
However, it is the tiredness shown by his players in the closing stages of the latter of those triumphs that has the former Scotland international pondering whether changes are needed.
Speaking after the game, he told the Latics website: “I saw the players tired a little bit and it’s something we need to be careful of. The physical outputs were are asking, the information and that cognitive load, all of that adds up and I thought we tired near the end of the game. So we need to look at that as a staff and address that next week and maybe change that slightly so the players are a bit fresher for another big game on Saturday.”
Momentum
Although they have won their last two home games without conceding a goal, there is some concern over the Latics form on the road after they collected just a solitary point from their last five games and they have conceded 16 goals in the process. However, Caldwell is keen to take the momentum from the back-to-back wins on their home patch into their trip to Bloomfield Road.
He said: “It’s back to back clean sheets at home and we’ve said all week this place needs to become a fortress. This place has to be a daunting task for any team that comes here and we need to build momentum from these two results. I thought the crowd, late in the game, singing, getting behind the team, giving them energy when they needed it, it’s a big effort from everyone to win these two home games. But we need to focus on going on the road next week getting points away from home as well.”