MX23RW : Saturday, February 8 00:01:51| >> :120:60833:60833:
[monks data]
Attendance: 18,616
Birmingham logo
Championship | Gameweek 26
Jan 1, 2020 at 3pm UK
 
Wigan logo

2-3

Mrabti (39'), Maghoma (81')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Windass (9', 50'), Kipre (73')

Paul Cook "confident" Wigan will avoid relegation

Paul Cook
© Reuters
Latics are one point from safety.

Wigan manager Paul Cook insists his side can win their survival fight and drag other teams into trouble after their 3-2 victory at Birmingham.

The Latics won the first away game in 15 attempts since beating Leeds in April to move off the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship and within a point of safety.

"I feel confident we can get out of trouble," said Cook. "I've watched us play too many times now (to think otherwise).

"If we do in the second half of the season what we've done in the first half, and we learn from the mistakes, the reality is we won't be in trouble but that's a long way off.

"At this stage the league is quite tight and teams can be dragged in because if teams at the bottom start winning, you are in trouble and teams will be looking over their shoulder.

"We can certainly cause most teams problems and over a season the league table doesn't lie.

"We create chances, we have got pace, energy and legs. We are on 23 points and we've got to make sure we get a points tally other teams will find hard to beat.

"If you win football games you won't be in trouble.

"We've just got to keep going. We've lost so many games in the last minute and stoppage time, it's untrue."

Striker Josh Windass opened Wigan's account after nine minutes and had a hand in the other two.

Kerim Mrabti's first goal at St Andrew's equalised for Blues in the 39th minute.

But Gary Gardner's own goal five minutes after the restart and a Cedric Kipre effort after 73 minutes sealed it before substitute Jacques Maghoma pulled one back for Blues late on.

Birmingham have won one in 12 and are now six points above the relegation zone in 18th.

Head coach Pep Clotet admits ending their run is a challenge but is fully confident he can turn it around.

"It's a challenge because we're having a bad run and we need to put our hands up for it," he said.

"But there are a lot of things that give me confidence; this club has been struggling much more in the recent past than it is now.

"I have full trust in the players, but it's about getting them back mentally and fighting back again because they do have the right attitude.

"I'm massively confident we can turn things around. We have experience in the squad of being in bad situations.

"We're also scoring more goals than we were a couple of months ago, so I'm very confident."

Clotet will have centre backs Jake-Clarke Salter and Marc Roberts back from injury soon after being forced to play midfielder Gardner at the back against Wigan.

"Next week we will get the players back in the position that we've been struggling in for a month and a half almost," he added.

"Then together we will fight for every point and things will take care of themselves.

"Gary can defend because he's good in the air and has played there earlier this season."

Regarding his team's display, Clotet admitted: "We had a bad performance and we didn't perform to the levels we did against Leeds on Sunday."

ID:384716: cacheID:384716:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4559:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
General view of Birmingham City's St Andrew's taken 2016
Read Next:
Birmingham City: Transfer ins and outs - January 2020
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Birmingham CityBirmingham27196246192763
2Wycombe WanderersWycombe29178455302559
3Wrexham29167643251855
4Stockport CountyStockport29148744281650
5Huddersfield TownHuddersfield28146841261548
6Leyton Orient281351040251544
7Charlton AthleticCharlton2812883628844
8Reading28135104341244
9Bolton WanderersBolton29135114343044
10Barnsley29127104139243
11Stevenage2711792725240
12Lincoln CityLincoln29109103534139
13Blackpool2891184140138
14Mansfield TownMansfield28114133535037
15Rotherham UnitedRotherham28107113333037
16Wigan AthleticWigan2897122728-134
17Northampton TownNorthampton3089132945-1633
18Exeter CityExeter2995153346-1332
19Bristol Rovers2894152844-1631
20Peterborough UnitedPeterborough2986154555-1030
21Burton Albion29510143044-1425
22Crawley TownCrawley2766152748-2124
23Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury2865172848-2023
24Cambridge UnitedCambridge2857162950-2122


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!