What the Bosses Said - Latics Vs Sunderland

The game at the JJB yesterday between Wigan Athletic and Sunderland took a full half to get started from a Latics point of view, when it did it looked like we`d go on to win, but Sunderland may feel a little grieved to have defended well and in their opinion given away a sloppy goal.

Lee Cattermoles sending off, what was that all about, absolutely atrocious decision by referee Rob Styles who had a poor game, these are my opinions but what about the managers Steve Bruce and Roy Keane, lets see what they had to say:

Latics boss Steve Bruce:

'The longer it went, the better we became. In the first half we were struggling a little bit, so overall the result's fair,'

'We brought fresh legs on - we brought Koumas and Kapo on - which gave us a little bit more impetus that's for sure.

'The longer it goes on you think chances will be had with Gordon making a great save and Zaki hitting the post.

'Thankfully, Zaki was in the right place at the right time and we got the result.'

Bruce on Cattermole`s sending off:

"Well we know the rules if you go to ground now and we know what it is if you jump in so I don't think I've got any complaints - I think the referee in that respect is right."

'Lee's a competitor and he wanted to win the ball. His nature is he's going to try and win that, and unfortunately he's probably won the ball and caught the man.'

'We haven't got as many points as I`d have liked, but I`m very, very pleased with what we've done.'

Sunderland boss Roy Keane

'We were put under pressure but, away from home, teams are going to have a go at you. Wigan put plenty of balls into the box, they are a strong team and we expected it.'

'A draw away from home in the Premier League is not the end of the world.'

'I was disappointed with our use of the ball in the second half but that will come over the next few weeks.'

'If Djibril takes his chance in the second half, the game is over. But if you don't take the chances, it can come back to haunt you.'

'Generally, we dealt with the crosses today but it was one too many and the striker for them, who is sharp, took his chance well.'

'I thought the two lads making their debuts did well. George had had two tough games for Northern Ireland last week.'

'We defended OK because Wigan put balls into the box and I don't remember Craig making too many saves.'

'We stood up to the battle and we know we can do a lot better with the ball. We got bullied here last year, we didn't today and we had the best chances.'

'We were happy with the point - maybe a draw was a fair result. There were good signs today and we move on to a big game next weekend.'

'Wigan had a man sent off near the end but I think by then both teams were looking for a draw.'

'We're trying to change the mentality of the players because our away form last season was so poor. We've got to try to make sure we get something out of the games away from home, and we did it today.'

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