Portsmouth man admits 'tough' afternoon after midweek celebrations - but still a day to cherish against Wigan

Callum Lang admits Pompey found it ‘tough’ upon their return to the football pitch - but insists a Wigan defeat could never overshadow a memorable Fratton Park day.

The Blues slipped to a first loss in 18 matches after the Latics claimed a 2-1 triumph ahead of their League One title presentation.

Luke Chambers and Josh Magennis put Shaun Maloney’s side 2-0 up after 83 minutes, although substitute Kusini Yengi did pull one back.

John Mousinho criticised his team’s opening 45 minutes, but felt they were the better side after the break, only to fall to a first defeat since mid-January.

Ahead of the Wigan clash, the Blues had, of course, been given two days off to celebrate their promotion success - in their own inimitable style.

And Lang believes achieving promotion already had an impact against his former club.

He told The News: ‘It was tough, but the main thing is we’ve won the league and the job is done.

‘We would have liked to have got a win or a point, I thought we were going to nick one at the end, but we’re in the Championship next season, we just need to enjoy ourselves.

‘We’ve gone out and celebrated like every club would. It was a tough one, Wigan played very well in the first half, whereas in the second half we were the better side. However, we gave away sloppy goals, it was quite frustrating really.

‘If you look at it, Chesterfield lost four in a row after winning promotion, it’s just the common thing when the league is done. You work so hard to get the job done.

‘The main thing was to get promoted, so we can’t be too down about it, it has been a great season.

‘We wanted to win the game, especially for the fans, they have been unbelievable. We returned to training on Friday and, coming into the game, we prepared how we always would, we went out there with a strong desire to win the game.

‘The lads are frustrated because we’re used to winning games, we have been unbeaten for a long time - but the main job is done.’

The Blues had 22 shots against Wigan, double than their opponents managed.

And it was the impressive Sam Tickle in goal who proved to be the thorn in the champions’ side, particularly in the second half.

Lang added: ‘I have played with Sam and he is a top keeper, he’s going to have an amazing career.

‘At the minute they are playing with that freedom, they are safe, and when they do that they are a really good side.’