Tony Dinning
Firstly, Tony Dinning has been allowed to extend his loan deal with Blackpool. The deal should have finished after their midweek victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the LDV Vans, but Jewell has allowed to midfielder to stay on at Bloomfield Road. This news comes despite the fact that Jewell said in the week that Dinning still has a future at the Latics.
Jason Roberts
Jason's appeal against the red card he recieved at Stoke City last weekend has been successful.
The FA video panel has decided that the red card was not deserved and the case will be put before the disciplinary panel on Monday where the card is expected to be recinded along with his three game ban.
Jewell has spoken to the clubs official website regarding this weekend's game against Walsall and star striker Nathan Ellington. He said: "Despite of the fact that we were the better side in the first half down at the Bescot, we didn't deserve anything from the game that day and it was a very disappointing performance. Once we went behind we didn't look capable of getting back into the game and in the past 18 months that's been unlike us.
The FA video panel has decided that the red card was not deserved and the case will be put before the disciplinary panel on Monday where the card is expected to be recinded along with his three game ban.
Walsall & Nathan Ellington
Jewell has spoken to the clubs official website regarding this weekend's game against Walsall and star striker Nathan Ellington. He said: "Despite of the fact that we were the better side in the first half down at the Bescot, we didn't deserve anything from the game that day and it was a very disappointing performance. Once we went behind we didn't look capable of getting back into the game and in the past 18 months that's been unlike us.
"On the day it was the manner of the defeat that was most upsetting from my point of view. I can live with losing because you do from time to time, but there are certain ways of losing and down at the Bescot I feel we could have done more. If you lose when you've given it your best shot, like when we did against Reading or Rotherham at home, you can't really have too many complaints but when you don't perform and get beat, it does upset you a bit.
"However, on Saturday we have the chance to make up for that defeat and hopefully, if we apply ourselves right, we can put on a performance to keep our run going. I felt the win over Derby in our last home game was an important one as we ground it out in tough conditions and we may have to do the same on Saturday. We'll try and play the way we normally do although it is more difficult at home when teams set up with men behind the ball and look to stifle our attacking play.
"We have to learn to deal with that though and it is a compliment to us I suppose that people are now coming to the JJB thinking that if they go away with a point it's a decent away result for them. We'll have to be patient once again but the best thing that could happen from our point of view is that we get an early goal as that would mean our opponents would have to come out a little bit more.
"Walsall are a decent side though, we know that, and they have a very good coach in Colin at the helm. I don't think he's going to be here on Saturday and I'd like to wish him a swift recovery from his operation on behalf of everyone at Wigan Athletic. His team showed back in October that they can play and are a tough nut to crack but hopefully we'll have enough on Saturday to keep our unbeaten run going.
"We're stressing the importance of taking one game at a time and although that's a great footballing cliche, it's one that I believe in and one that has worked well for us so far."
"Nathan's had a sore throat this week and has missed training while Jimmy has also sat out a couple of days due to a knee injury. We expect both to be fit though and I'm sure neither of them will want to miss out. 'Duke' especially is in a rich vein of form at the moment and he's probably playing as well as he has since he's been here.
"He looks re-invigorated and though he wasn't doing badly before this recent spell, he's certainly looking a real threat of late. We're trying to drum into him the need to score more consistently as I judge my strikers on the amount of games they score in and not just the amount of goals they score. In the past he has tended to score in bursts and then go goalless for while but what I want him to do is contribute with goals more often.
"He's scored in our last three I think and four of the last five and it would be great if he could keep that going. Obviously he can't score every week but if he can cut out the droughts of seven or eight games he has tended to have in the past, we'll get even more out of him.
"He's a lovely lad and we've been laughing that he's trying to become the black Gary Lineker by going the whole season without a booking! From my point of view I'd maybe like to see a bit more devilment in him but I'm not sure we can coach that. He's doing well though and with 15 goals already in his first season at this level, you have to say he's having a good one and that hopefully he's on for a pretty good haul come the end of the season."