- WATCH: Paul Cook on Wigan Athletic’s New Year’s Day defeat to Sheffield United
- Cook ‘massively disappointed’ with defeat and says his side are losing games in the blink of an eye
- Cook: “We are in games but within a blink of an eye games have gone away from us.”
Wigan Athletic manager Paul Cook was disappointed to see his Latics side kick off 2019 with defeat at home to Sheffield United.
After a positive start at the DW Stadium, Latics conceded three quick goals either side of half-time to lose 3-0 to Chris Wilder’s 3rd place Blades.
Reflecting post-match with iFollow Latics, Cook said:
“The first thing is massive disappointment because we are just in a little bit of a place that isn’t a good place for us – we have to hold our hands up and say that.
“We are in games but within a blink of an eye games have gone away from us.
“I will never criticise my players because sometimes they need help.
“For me, it is disappointing that we are in the game and then moments in the game change the game; at one end of the pitch we miss a glorious chance to go 1-0 up and then at the other end all of a sudden we are 1-0 down.
“We then came out after half-time and in a blink the game had gone away from us. As a group; staff, players, myself, we have to sit down and keep working hard to do what we started out to do in what is a very, very tough league.
“It is going to be tough for us, we have to knuckle down, come together and find a way.”
Gavin Massey was replaced in the second-half after seemingly sustaining a similar injury to the one that kept him out for the majority of the first half of the season but a disappointed Cook said Latics can’t continue to use injuries as an excuse.
“Everything that can go wrong for us at the minute is, especially with injuries and suspensions but I don’t want to get embroiled in that,” Cook added.
“It is a tough league, you are playing against quality teams and as a club it is a division we craved so much to be in – we are now really seeing the teeth of it.”