Cook hails Rotherham after Wigan draw at home

Posted Sunday, April 15, 2018 by PA

Wigan boss Paul Cook had no complaints about the goalless draw against Rotherham which kept his side on top of Sky Bet League One.

The Latics had an uncharacteristic off-day across the board – possibly as a result of their hectic schedule of late – as the Millers grabbed a point to boost their own play-off hopes.

And the visitors could even have gone home with all three points, with Ryan Williams twice coming desperately close to forcing what would have been the winner.

“I thought it was a fair result, because they were excellent, especially early on,” Cook said.

“Sometimes the easy thing is to be negative towards your own team, and that can mean you forget to give credit to the opposition.

“We’ve been a free-scoring team of late and we did create a few chances again, I have to say.

“But so did they, which made for a good game, a competitive game.

“We weren’t quite at it today, and I think our supporters will give the players that after the season we’ve had.

“Obviously we’re delighted to still be top, five games to go, and everything’s still in our favour.”

For Rotherham manager Paul Warne – a former Wigan striker – it was another step towards their goal of a top-six finish.

“I’m really pleased with the lads – I think a few teams around us were hoping we would drop points today,” he said.

“I think the results have gone quite well, so we’re just really pleased.

“We watch games and I’ve got to give credit to all my backroom staff, I think we got the tactics spot on, the best we could hope for.

“On another day, we might have nicked a goal – but it wasn’t to be.”

Wigan’s cause was not helped by the half-time withdrawal of Nick Powell, for the second game in a row, as he continues to battle an ongoing thigh injury.

“Nick just didn’t quite look happy on the pitch, and he’s one of them players who, when he’s on his game, he plays like 10 men,” Cook added.

“He didn’t look quite at it from the off, and we thought it was best to bring him off at the break to protect him.

“We’ve got other players who are champing at the bit for an opportunity, and it was a challenging day for me as a manager – because you want to make the correct subs.

“We could have brought on (James) Vaughan at half-time, but I think that might have meant us giving up the middle of the pitch.

“In these games, if you give up the middle of the pitch, you’re in trouble, and Gary Roberts was excellent when he came on.

“You always want to give your fans that excitement of two up top, but you’ve also got respect the opposition and what they can do as well.”