Tears will spur on Maloney
SHAUN MALONEY vowed Wigan will not repeat the horrors of this season after they were relegated at Reading.
The Latics were doomed with a draw at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. A three-point deduction for missing player wages helped seal their fate for the season.
Their return to League One after just one season left boss Maloney emotional after the game. And the teary-eyed ex-Wigan winger promised to make his side bounce back.
He said: “I love my job, and a big part of that job is to make sure we never, ever have a season like this – on and off the pitch.
“We win games and lose games, but we need a stable club that’s going to be here for the next 10, 15 years.
“Really difficult feeling at the end, a really difficult day for everyone.
“It’s a deeply painful day, and it’s real mixed emotions.”
A passionate crowd saw
Wigan keeper Jamie Jones save from both Jeff Hendrick and Lucas Joao before the break.
The visitors were dealt a blow five minutes after the restart when Josh Magennis hobbled off. But Charlie Hughes netted his first senior goal nine minutes from time to give them hope.
Reading saved their own skin with sub Yakou Meite poking home in an injury-time scramble.
The Royals need either one of Huddersfield or Rotherham to slip up and interim boss Noel Hunt knows he must wait.
He said: “We’re relying on results now, but what they gave on the pitch today should be the minimum requirement. We’ve got to wait and hope – and hope we have something to play for next Monday at Huddersfield.”