What former Portsmouth boss Paul Cook had to say on day Wigan fans turned on him and Kal Naismith

Former Pompey boss Paul Cook admitted he had ‘no problem’ with Wigan fans venting their frustration towards him during the Latics’ home defeat to Reading yesterday.
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Sections of the home support at the DW Stadium were heard chanting ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ as the hosts slipped to a third successive defeat on their own turf.

The 3-1 reverse against the Royals was also Wigan’s fifth loss in seven outings – a run of form that sees them occupy one of the Championship’s three relegation places.

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Yet on a day that also saw ex-Blues forward Kal Naismith booed as he came on as a 65th-minute substitute, the under-pressure Cook said such scenes were a part of life in the modern game.

And the man who guided Pompey to the 2016-17 League Two title added his future at Wigan was in the hands of ‘the powers that be’.

‘It's football today, and I've got no problem with the industry we're in,’ Cook told Wigan Today.

‘I know the rules of the game - if Wigan fans aren't happy, they'll vent their frustrations.

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‘It's what football fans do these days, and I've no problem with that.

Former Pompey boss Paul Cook Picture: Kirsty EdmondsFormer Pompey boss Paul Cook Picture: Kirsty Edmonds
Former Pompey boss Paul Cook Picture: Kirsty Edmonds

‘I could sit here and tell you I'm going to be manager for the next four years.

‘I might not even be the manager beyond the next four minutes.

‘That's football today, I've been in the game long enough, and I've had a great time as a football manager.

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‘If the powers-that-be here at Wigan deem that someone else can do better than me, then I'll be a Wigan supporter for life.’

Cook left Fratton Park in the immediate aftermath of the League Two title success.

Subsequently joining Wigan, he guided the Latics to the League One title in his maiden season in charge.

That was followed by an 18th-place finish in last season’s Championship.

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But despite the likes of Kieffer Moore and Jamal Lowe being recruited in the summer, Wigan currently possess just four league wins from 19 matches so far this term.

Asked whether he could turn things around, Cook provided a spiky response.

‘We got asked this last year, and it bores the life out of me the questions you have to answer now, without being disrespectful.

‘No-one knows whether we can turn it round, it's only time.

‘The reality is we're in a relegation fight, and to get out of the relegation fight we have to win games.

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‘Are we capable of winning games? I believe of course we are.

‘I'm certainly not going to turn it round by telling you (the media) how I'm going to turn it round.

‘I'd like to go away and just lick my wounds, like we always do in football.

‘We managed to stay up last year, and I certainly think managing to stay up this year would be deemed a success, with the playing squad we have.’

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