Manager delighted his side earn important three points at the DW Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Watch | Paul Cook gives his assessment of 1-0 win over Birmingham City
Manager delighted his side earn important three points at the DW Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Paul Cook: “I am absolutely delighted; it is tough getting points in this league but our home form is strong.”

Latics manager Paul Cook said he was delighted to see his side edge their Tuesday evening Sky Bet Championship clash with Birmingham City 1-0.

Anthony Pilkington scored the game’s decisive goal late on and Cook told Latics TV the win was important for his side.

“I am absolutely delighted,” Cook said. “It is tough getting points in this league but our home form is strong.

“The game was probably looking like it was going to a 0-0; Pilks had come on as a sub and we were about to bring Joffy [Joe Gelhardt] on to try and get that goal that we probably didn’t look like getting at that stage.

“We are delighted with the win; Birmingham are a good side that played really well at Derby when I watched them on Saturday and they carried a threat so defensively we can be really pleased with the clean sheet.

“To get the goal is so important to our season.

“I was disappointed at Fulham with the 83^rd minute goal because we didn’t give ourselves chance to nick a draw and before that we were three unbeaten. Now we have lost just one in five; it depends how people want to look at football.”

Josh Windass returned from the start for Latics whilst Pilkington also made his first appearance following injury and Cook was pleased to see the return of two important forward players to his ranks.

“For me, in a difficult division, we are getting some lads starting to form partnerships and the clean sheet at home and three points is vital to our season,” Cook continued.

“It was probably the first time Josh Windass has played with Kieffer Moore and Jamal Lowe; our lads are striving to be better, they want to do well for the club and within that we have got a good group of players, some smashing lads and we’ll just keep working hard, that’s all we can do.”

And Cook is really eager to build on Tuesday night’s win on Saturday at Sheffield Wednesday.

“The league is fantastic and we love being in it but we want to progress as a club and I am sure our supporters do and our owners do,” he explained. “To do that we have to take small strides to make one big one and for us at the minute just getting above that relegation zone and getting some points on the board and giving our fans that little bit of belief is important to us.

“I am really looking forward to Sheffield Wednesday now; we’ll go and have a really good go at Sheffield Wednesday, it’s a great stadium, we look forward to it, we are looking to put back-to-back wins together because it is something we don’t really do and I am sure our travelling supporters will be buoyed by this win and we go to Sheffield looking for a win as well.”

Watch | Paul Cook gives his assessment of 1-0 win over Birmingham City