MAC LOVES LIFE AT THE LATICS...
Winger Callum so glad to be back ‘home’ again
FOR Callum McManaman, there’s simply no place like home.
That’s probably where the Judy Garland comparisons end but the 27-year-old winger is delighted to be a Wigan player once again and hoping to be a leading man at the DW Stadium.
Making his summer return to the Latics from Sunderland, McManaman came back to the club where he made his professional debut in the Premier League and helped Wigan shock Manchester City to win the FA Cup in 2013.
This season is a fresh start in the Championship for the Merseyside native, who has endured mixed spells at West Brom and Sunderland since leaving the Latics in 2015, and he’s hoping that a few home comforts will help him get back to his box office best.
Great
“It’s great to be back. I’m a proper homer, so I’m made up to be back,” said McManaman.
“It’s completely changed, to be fair – there’s a different training ground, a different manager, different lads, but the club’s still the same.
“I had another year on my deal at Sunderland and I wasn’t planning on leaving, but I know the club inside out and it just seemed right.
“I think it was where I played my best football, so it’s just perfect. You just want to play at the highest level for as long as you can, so that was a big factor as well.
“When I left, I don’t think I quite realised the impact it would have. It was all I knew – and then I left and was homesick.
“It just wasn’t the same, but now I’ve come back. I’m happier already and enjoying my football.
“I’m from Liverpool, so the ground’s only 45 minutes away and I’ve gone back to living at home.
“There’s a few of the lads that are from Liverpool that drive in, so there’s a car school as well – little things like that make it more enjoyable.”
McManaman notched just once during Sunderland’s miserable relegation season last term – a dramatic late equaliser against Middlesbrough – and he has jumped from one side on a downward spiral to one up on the up, Wigan having won League One for the second time in three years last term.
He now gets to work under manager Paul Cook, who has won titles with Chesterfield, Portsmouth and the Latics in the last five seasons.
Cook’s management skills have already left an impression on McManaman – sitting 10th in the Championship, Wigan’s players were given the tail end of the week and this weekend off – and the wideman reckons they are ready to write their own storylines this season.
“The gaffer’s also very big on positive moods around the training ground, and that definitely works – you’re going in to work and that helps,” said McManaman.
“I think he’s very good. I’ve been very impressed with him since I signed. The way he wants us to play is tough but you can see how well it’s working.
“The squad was confident that we could get after teams and I think we’ve probably been underestimated in the first few games – now, we’re getting the credit we deserve.
“We’re just getting after teams. We don’t really fear anyone that we’re playing and I think that works perfectly in the Championship.”