WIGAN REMAIN IN POLE POSITION
PAUL COOK admitted he had no complaints about Wigan’s goalless draw, which kept his side on top of the table.
The Latics had an uncharacteristic off-day across the board – possibly as a result of their hectic recent schedule – as Rotherham grabbed a point to boost their own play-off hopes.
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,” said Wigan boss Cook (below).
“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 freescoring 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.
“Obviously we’re delighted to still be top, with five games to go and everything’s still in our favour.”
Wigan’s cause wasn’t 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 those players who, when he’s on his game, he plays like 10 men,” added Cook. For Rotherham boss Paul Warne it was another step towards their goal of a top-six finish. “I’m really pleased – I think a few around us were hoping we would drop points,” he said. “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.” DEREK ADAMS felt his Plymouth side were one pass away from victory after a frustrating afternoon against their south coast play-off rivals.
Argyle had a late let-off when Portsmouth skipper Brett Pitman’s goalbound header was deflected on to the crossbar late on.
Adams said: “For spells in the game we dominated possession and passed the ball well. I am disappointed not to
have won it. We were a pass away from getting on the scoresheet and that was our problem.”
Pompey boss Kenny Jackett said: “Wins make the difference at this stage of the season.
“But I have no complaints about the result.
“I am delighted with the way we finished the game because at the start of the season we weren’t doing that. It’s a good sign we are improving as the season goes on.”