Wes Wilkinson (pictured) was a name that Brian Talbot had never heard of when he took over as boss at the Latics but in only three weeks the youngster has really impressed. Talbot said, “When I was meeting the owners about coming here, Simon Corney asked me what I thought of the deal to sign Wes. I’d never heard of the lad, but it was a short-term contract and I said we had nothing to lose. I can’t take any credit for bringing him in, but he is a breath of fresh air who plays with no fear. He is a free spirit and I’m very pleased for him. He has scored goals at a given level and we’ll wait to see how he develops. We gave Wes his debut on Tuesday night and now he has helped us to an excellent win against one of the division’s top sides. Bristol City don’t have the quickest of defences, so his pace gave them quite a few problems.”Talbot sings the praises of his players after shock win at Bristol City
Wes Wilkinson (pictured) was a name that Brian Talbot had never heard of when he took over as boss at the Latics but in only three weeks the youngster has really impressed. Talbot said, “When I was meeting the owners about coming here, Simon Corney asked me what I thought of the deal to sign Wes. I’d never heard of the lad, but it was a short-term contract and I said we had nothing to lose. I can’t take any credit for bringing him in, but he is a breath of fresh air who plays with no fear. He is a free spirit and I’m very pleased for him. He has scored goals at a given level and we’ll wait to see how he develops. We gave Wes his debut on Tuesday night and now he has helped us to an excellent win against one of the division’s top sides. Bristol City don’t have the quickest of defences, so his pace gave them quite a few problems.”“The first half was like a disaster area with four subs going on, but it’s strange how two injuries helped us because I thought Wes and Will Haining both did very well. We had nothing to lose from a game like this, and we got the reward for having a real go at it. We had no chance on paper, but games are won on grass and the way we went about our task was excellent. The second half wasn’t pretty, but we stuck to our game-plan and made sure two goals in the first half were enough to clinch the game. It’s pleasing to only concede one goal in my first three games because we’ve worked hard on keeping our shape. You need that if you are going to be a decent side and, although Bristol City had a lot of possession, we didn’t face many chances.”
“My assessment of the squad hasn’t changed — I would still like more pace in the side and there are times when we lack a wide player. We’ve had people doing jobs they aren’t 100-per-cent comfortable with, but they are doing them for the team. One good result doesn’t change the fact there’s a lot work ahead, but to get our second away win of the season is a big lift for the players, as well as the manager. It’s amazing what you can do when you believe in yourself, and hopefully we’ve got that back. I don’t think many of our fans — who were magnificent, by the way — would have expected us to come here and win 2-0. But we passed the ball, played with a bit of style and the lads gave their all. I couldn’t have asked for any more.”