Wigan boss Shaun Maloney said their 1-0 win at Barnsley showcased “everything we want to be”.
A first-half goal from Thelo Aasgaard was enough to give the Latics victory.
Maloney said: “Today’s performance had everything. It had intent and bravery and the talent they showed for the goal was amazing.
“We had to show both sides today – and I think anyone who was at the game knew how difficult of a day it was to play football in.
“I’m really pleased, and the goal we scored was amazing. It was everything we want to be as a club and everything we have been as a club. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“We were good in the first half. We were aggressive and definitely played forward. Thelo (Aasgaard) gets into these positions and in today’s game he was clinical.
“We looked really dangerous. The biggest and most important part was putting the ball in the back of the net.
“The last 20 minutes – we had to deal with long balls and set plays – and we had to bring on more people. A special mention to Baba Adeeko, who was outstanding today.”
Maloney praised the travelling supporters, saying: “They were amazing. I know where we are in the table and I know the previous games have been difficult.
“They’ve seen everything in the last three or four years but I think they know they’ve got a group of players giving absolutely everything for them.”
Barnsley boss Darrell Clarke was disappointed with his team’s display.
Clarke said: “It was a really, really poor first half. I wasn’t happy with our press, our ball retention, our build-up play. That was disappointing because we’ve done a lot of work to make sure we get those bits right.
“We gave the ball away when we had a simple pass. It was very sloppy.
“If you drop off the intensity levels required to win games at this level, you come up short.
“We were off it, certainly in that first half. In the second half, we were trying to get the ball into their box but they defended well.
“We’ve certainly got to be a lot better. You have got to be at it every single day. We conceded a real poor goal from our perspective. That was their only effort on target in the game.
“We huffed and puffed but it doesn’t paper over what was a really poor first half.
“I expect more from my team. It’s all about reaction. We have to perform a lot better on Tuesday night against Reading. We have to make sure the game plan is a lot better executed.”
