Wigan Athletic v Sheffield United Preview

By Alan G
December 16 2006

Paul Scharner returns for the visit of Sheffield United after his one-game ban, and Arjan de Zeeuw is in contention after missing the last four matches through a toe injury.

Gary Teale, Antonio Valencia, Steve McMillan and Ryan Taylor all remain out through injury.

Sheffield United midfielder Michael Tonge is in contention after missing seven weeks with an ankle injury.

Fellow midfielder Mikele Leigertwood is still sidelined with an ankle injury sustained in the win at Watford.

Latics (from): Kirkland, Jackson, Hall, Camara, Kilbane, McCulloch, Johansson, Landzaat, Heskey, Boyce, Cotterill, Skoko, Baines, De Zeeuw, Scharner, Wright, Webster, Pollitt.

Sheff Utd (from): Kenny, Bromby, Morgan, Jagielka, Hulse, A Quinn, S Quinn, Kazim-Richards, Kozluk, Gillespie, Geary, Nade, Webber, Montgomery, Law, Bennett, Short, Kabba, Tonge, Armstrong.

 

Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)

 

 

Paul Jewell: "If we'd had an extra 10,000 in the crowd against Arsenal we might have even won that game.

 

"It makes you wonder whether the Wigan public really want Premiership football. You have to ask that.

 

"I think for some people, being in the Premiership is wearing off, they don't come to watch Wigan, they come to watch the opposition.

 

I'm not slagging off the fans that come, and I can't stress that enough because the fans that come are really good, but we really deserve more.

 

"They will come back and say it is expensive. I know that, and maybe it's something the club can look at.

 

"But it is dispiriting, and the players do talk about the lack of atmosphere at times around the ground.

 

"It is also making my job more difficult to prove we're a forward-thinking club, and I know we are because of the way we do things off the pitch, but we need help from the supporters."

 

Jewell continued:

 

"I'm ambitious. I want to be as good as I can be, and I want football in Wigan to mean as much to them as it does to me," he said.

 

"But when I'm trying to get players in it makes it difficult when there are only 15,000 against Arsenal. It doesn't look good.

 

"Maybe those who aren't coming now will never come back. Maybe we can't bring them back. Maybe I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

 

"I keep trying to do my best for the team, and wherever it takes me, it takes me.

 

"But I don't want to waste my time and energy on something that can never happen.”