Latics boss John Sheridan shared his enjoyment of the 1-0 win at Southend by running across to the 193 travelling fans who made the effort to see the Latics almost secure safety from relegation with a dramatic performance. Curtis Main scored the winner, his third winning goal, that clinched an unexpected (by many) three points.
Sheridan said, “There weren’t loads of our supporters but I’m so chuffed for them for coming all this way and you could see how delighted I was with the result and it’s a big step for us. I think we started the game well. I felt we should have played a little bit more quicker and probably pass the ball in the first half quicker because there were opportunities to get at them. They are a strong outfit and only going for the play-offs a couple of weeks ago but I thought, second half, we looked really lively on the break. We probably had more opportunities to score more goals but it was a great performance. The work ethic from the players has been tremendous since I’ve come in and it’s down to them. We’ve done well, even though we’ve not been playing well. Tonight we got away with one or two little things but it’s a great result against a tough team. We came for three points and that’s what we got so I’m pleased.”
“The three points is a massive plus for us, put it that way, but we are not mathematically safe. It puts us in a great position but there is still three games to go and we can still be caught. But we have gained points on other teams, so there are teams who have to win games to catch us with not long left.”