HUNGRY LEE HAS TO BE ON TOP OF HIS GAME
LEE Evans says time on the sidelines has pushed him to work even harder to stay in the Wigan team.
The three-time Welsh international, 24, has made 15 appearances for Wigan in their first season back in the Championship after promotion.
After featuring in recent clashes with Blackburn and Bolton, the central midfielder is keen to emphasise how spells out of the side gave him extra motivation.
“I got into the team straight away when I first came in. I’ve missed a few games but being out of the team was a good kick up the backside, knowing I can’t coast through games,” he said.
“With a player of Darron Gibson’s experience, a captain like Sam Morsy and Callum Connolly, there’s plenty of competition, so you need to have an impact and play well to keep your place in this team.
“The midfield needs to be consistent week in, week out. The battles are won or lost in the middle and in the last few weeks we have dominated those battles physically.”
After boosting Wigan’s promotion bid with 20 appearances and one goal last term, Evans moved to the Latics from Sheffield United – initially on loan and permanently from January.
Wigan have only lost once in the league at the DW Stadium since February and Evans hasn’t yet lost a game at home, a record he is keen to maintain.
“It’s a nice stat to have to my name,” he said.
“Premier League teams came here and were outplayed, culminating in us beating Manchester City, which nobody expected to happen.
“We want to make it tough for the opposition, any opposition. We haven’t dropped many points at home and we’ll be looking to do exactly the same for the rest of the season.”