|
------
Click HERE for pictures of the promotion winning game against Reading.
------
Jewell said: "I've gathered the players together and said this week's training has to be - for those who were here to remember it - like it was leading up to the Reading game two years ago.
"Back then I was convinced by the way we trained all week that we would win the game, and we did to get promotion. There was just something there, a steely determination, the tempo was good, everything seemed right.
"As a manager you get good and bad vibes as a game approaches. When you get bad vibes you try and lift the players but sometimes it seems like there is nothing you can do.
"But the feeling I got before we played Reading was 'this will be our day, the chance might never come up again.' By God, did we play well that day, and it would be nice to do so again this weekend against West Ham.
"I have stressed to the players we have to take our training into the game and try and get at West Ham in a positive manner. This is not a place for the faint hearted at the moment, I've said all along that it might go down to these last few games."
Meantime, midfielder Paul Scharner has his eyes set on a winning run over the final three games. He told wigantoday.net: "I am a little bit surprised that we are struggling.
"But if you look back to earlier in the season, we had a run of four wins in a row, and we haven't had anything like that in the second half. That is probably why we are still involved in a relegation battle.
"I'm still positive we can get out of trouble, it's in our own hands, and we have to aim for maximum points from the remaining games. This is not my first experience of a relegation battle, I've been involved in one before when I played for Salzburg in Austria.
"We managed to stay up then and hopefully it will be the same this year at Wigan."
In injury news, both Emile Heskey and Ryan Taylor are expected to be fit after picking up knocks in the defeat to Liverpool last weekend. Jewell added: "Hesk came off with a deadleg at Liverpool, he missed training yesterday, but he'll probably be able to join in today or tomorrow.
"McCulloch trained yesterday, he's still a bit tender but got through it, and Taylor got a kick on the foot on Saturday. It's not too serious and we'll see how he is as the week goes on."
There is also a campaign to get Mark Gambles Latics Remix aired before the clash with West Ham - click here to read more.
|
