Shaun Maloney admitted “the result was all important” after his Wigan side moved off the foot of the Sky Bet Championship thanks to a 1-0 victory over managerless Huddersfield.
Jack Whatmough’s header with 10 minutes to go was enough to settle a tense and tight encounter at the DW Stadium.
It handed Wigan their first victory in three months and gave Maloney the perfect way to mark his first home game in charge.
“I guess the result was all important today,” he said. “Obviously you’re really aware of the situation, but in terms of the work we put in, and how we prepared, I hope we took the pressure off the players.
“The performance, probably, was similar from both teams, they were possibly a bit more dominant in the first half, we were a bit more dominant in the second half.
“I definitely felt the momentum switch after half-time, and I’m just really pleased for the players.
“It gives them belief and a bit more confidence that this is possible.
“Neither side created too much, but our fans stuck with us, and at no point did I sense any negativity from the players.
“Big thanks to them for that, and also credit to the players for the fight they showed, all the way to the last free-kick at the death.
“I was really happy with the subs as well, obviously we had to change the line-up, people came into the squad and into the team, and everyone reacted very well.”
For Huddersfield interim head coach Narcís Pelach, it was very much a game of two halves.
“In the first half, we showed what we wanted to do, I think the team was understanding well, and showing balance,” he said.
“In the second half, it was the same for the first 10 minutes, but then we disappeared completely.
“We need to understand why that happened, because we need to improve and we need to do it quickly.
“We disappeared in terms of having the ball.
“If they counter-press you with intensity, you have the option to play long and put them on the back foot.
“But we stopped giving the solutions we were showing in the first half, with the ball.
“Without the ball, we also lost control, and I am not happy with what happened in the second half.
“We lost the goal from a corner, and that can happen, it’s not down to tactics.
“But we cannot let this happen, the way we lost control in the second half.”
The Terriers yet again paid the price for switching off at the end, the latest in a long line of late goals that have proved costly.
“That is a good question, a good question,” added Pelach. “It’s maybe a matter of concentration, we need to reach the end of the game with clarity.
“Too often in the last 15 or 20 minutes we are conceding goals.
“We have spoken about that before, but it’s the momentum in games that is going against us.
“The situation is not easy, but in those moments of the game, we are not good enough.
“We will try to improve and we have to improve.”
