Report by John Patrick Heeley

I'll keep this brief as I know it's painful.

Just for once the weather wasn't too bad on the Fylde Coast and the early kick off saw Blackpool having much the better of the early stages, coming forward like one of their famous sewage filled waves.

In fact, it took them all of 8 minutes to register their first goal when Ormerod played in ex-city player Paul Simpson who knocked it back in to transfer listed striker JOHN MURPHY who planted a bullet header past Wigan keeper Stewart Kerr.

Latics did manage to come into the game a bit more in the first half with Ashcroft smacking the ball into the side netting and a Brannan free kick hit at pace, but also straight into the arms of Blackpool keeper Pullen.

Blackpool were causing continual problems, pressing forward, the lively Bullock and hard working Collins dictating the midfield and the dangerous pair of Murphy and Ormerod up front keeping the Latics defence on their toes and could well have had a couple more if fortune had favoured them.

In stoppage time at the end of the first half, Neil 'Bomber' Roberts was unlucky not to score when his header looked to have possibly crossed the line but the linesman was having none of it.

Paul Jewell, clearly not happy with the first half performance replaced the two front men, Neil Roberts & Paul Dalglish for Lee McCulloch & Simon Haworth.

Whatever words Jewell said to his players at half time, they seemed to be working as Wigan started to make a game of it, pressing the Blackpool rearguard into action several times and taking it to them winning a succession of corners.

On the 67th minute, Scott Green came on for young Paul Mitchell and it was shortly afterwards when Latics forced their way back into the game.

A throw in was met by de Zeeuw, who flicked it on into the path of Haworth. The Welsh striker slipped the ball wide of the Blackpool 'keeper who impeded him leaving the referee no alternative but to give a penalty, and up stepped ex-Nob End player LEE ASHCROFT to gleefully put Latics back on level terms.

Whereas Latics could and should have gone on to capitalise on the Blackpool team's jitters, they failed to do so. But even so, with de Zeeuw doing a splendid job in keeping Pool dangerman Brett (sad name) Ormerod quiet, Latics looked good value for a point.

Sadly though, the away team's inability to control the game and remain focused was again evident in the 85th minute. Following a mix up between McMillan and Kennedy, Latics lost possession on the half way line and DANNY COID set off on a run where he ran unchallenged towards the edge of the box and hit a screamer into the top corner.

Three minutes later it was substitute NEIL MacKENZIE's turn to add his name to the scoresheet, finishing off a move he started, after a Murphy shot came back off the bar. 3-1 Blackpool, and the 1,000 strong travelling contingent from Wigan were left stunned once more.

I would like to apologise for the lack of "the game was a rollercoaster" type puns, but yet again I am bloody angry with this result.

We are all agreed that it will take Paul Jewell time to get it right and to be fair you only have to look at Blackpool who 18 months ago were getting dicked 5-1 by our good selves at the JJB to see how quickly things can turn around.But that is scant consolation at the moment.

Maybe the players would like to start by playing like they did for that little spell which resulted in a goal for the full 90 minutes?

This has been the case for a while, the match today followed a similar pattern to Oldham away on Boxing Day.

I also think "lack of confidence" is the poorest excuse going - if someone was to pay me a couple of hundred grand a year to do a job, I would be pretty damn cocky of my own ability to be bloody good at it and put every effort into it..

We now have another ten day break where hopefully Jewell will bang a few heads together and possibly bring a couple more into key areas, otherwise the team could find itself embroiled in a relegation battle, and they really don't look like they've got the spirit for that at the minute.