‘It’s a common thing when the job is done’
Callum Lang admits Pompey found it ‘tough’ upon their return to the football pitch - but insists a Wigan defeat could never overshadow a memorable Fratton Park day.
The Blues slipped to a first loss in 18 matches after the Latics claimed a 2-1 triumph ahead of their League One title presentation.
Luke Chambers and Josh Magennis put Shaun Maloney’s side 2-0 up after 83 minutes, although substitute Kusini Yengi did pull one back.
Ahead of the Wigan clash, the Blues had been given two days off to celebrate their promotion success - in their own inimitable style.
And Lang believes achieving promotion already had an impact against his former club, with whom he won League One in 2021/22.
He told The News: ‘It was tough, but the main thing is we’ve won the league and the job is done.
‘We would have liked to havegotawino r a point, I thought we were going to nick one at the end, but we’re in the Championship next season, we just need to enjoy ourselves.
‘We’ve gone out and celebrated like every club would.
‘If you look at it, Chesterfield lost four in a row after winning promotion, it’s just the common thing when the league is done. You work so hard to get the job done.
‘The main thing was to get promoted, so we can’t be too down about it, it has been a great season.
‘We wanted to win the game, especially for the fans, they have been unbelievable.
‘We returned to training on Friday and, coming into the game, we prepared how we always would, we went out there with a strong desire to win the game.’
Pompey had 22 shots
– to Wigan’s 11 – and Lang added: ‘The lads are frustrated because we’re used to winning games, we have been unbeaten for a long time - but the main job is done.’