Haining to step into the breach?

Last updated : 11 December 2002 By Dave Moore
Will Haining, who scored his debut senior goal on Saturday, could be the one to step up and take the reigns in the absence of broken leg casualty Clint Hill. Speaking of the 20-year-old Dowie said, “Will is someone I like, he is strong in the tackle and in a similar mould to Clint. Clubs have asked about taking him here, there and everywhere, but he can be a very good player for us and should have a bright future. We need to get him in the team on a regular basis — the same goes for Scott Vernon — so it’s a conundrum I have to solve. Will is a determined lad whose injury problems are hopefully behind him. I think Latics fans can enjoy watching him for a long time to come.”


Julien Baudet and Lee Duxbury also come into the equasion to play the centre-back role against Wigan Athletic. A devastated Clint Hill is to defy the odds by returning earlier than expected and said, “The doctor said I probably wouldn’t play before next season but I would love to be back for the last month, or even just the last couple of weeks, because we have a great chance of promotion and I don’t want to miss it. I’m absolutely gutted at the moment, but I’m a determined kind of person and I’ll be giving it 110-per-cent. The mind is willing, so it’s just a matter of the body catching up — all I can do is stay hopeful."


"It was a nothing sort of incident because I was jockeying their player towards the touchline and just went to block him. My right foot must have got stuck in the turf and my whole bodyweight turned over on it. “I heard two clicks in my leg, which obviously wasn’t a good sign — you know you’ve got problems when something like that happens. I haven’t really felt much pain, but the leg went numb at the time and I was in shock for a couple of minutes. The hospital down there put me in plaster before I came back up for surgery — I’ve now got eight screws in the bone and a plate in there as well. The gaffer and all the backroom staff have been brilliant since it happened and the lads have sent me their best wishes.”