- Latics Listen 30 - Emile Heskey.
- Former Latics and Bolton Wanderers striker looks ahead to a 'six-pointer' between his two old sides.
- "I've still got my England and Wigan Athletic shirt next to each other in the same frame." - Emile Heskey.
Making his second guest appearance on our podcast, Latics Listen, former Latics and England international striker Emile Heskey dropped in to chat to Guy Clarke ahead of Latics' local derby clash with Bolton Wanderers.
You can listen to Emile's chat or read from the excerpt below!
This weekend your two former teams are in action in Wigan Athletic v Bolton Wanderers, you must have good memories of playing for both teams?
“I loved my time at Wigan Athletic, it’s a great club and we had some great characters in the side and the fans were great in spurring us on.”
“Time does fly, it’s nice to look back and see the wonderful times I had with Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers.
“It’s a six-pointer on Saturday for sure, it’s unfortunate that both clubs are playing against each other, at this stage of the season, but you need a win of that magnitude to get you away from relegation."
How important was the time at the DW Stadium in terms of shaping your career?
“It was a very important time for me as a player because it’s when I got back into the England national team.
“I hadn’t played for the national team for four years, so enjoying my football at a club that didn’t have many international players was nice to have that honour.”
“For me, it was just about playing football and helping Wigan to get as far as they possibly could.
“I knew what I was capable of doing and if I did that, I would definitely be on the radar, it was an honour to represent the country being a Wigan Athletic player.
“I’ve actually got the Latics shirt and England shirt next to each other in a frame, so I look back at the memories fondly.”
We all remember the battle at Bramall Lane on the final game of your first season with the club, but after that it seemed like the whole squad came together and loved playing football?
“The singings were great, they gave us a lift and we had some good young players on the books, one of them was Antonio Valencia who we know went on to do tremendous things with Manchester United.
“Palacios and other players like that, they were attractive players to play with.
“I took a lot of things in my stride and never put too much emphasis on the little details, it’s easy to focus on things and get distracted.
“I tried not to do that and just focused on playing well for my team-mates, to have an impact on every game I was involved in and the way that we wanted to set up as a team unit.”