The Latics made an important step in their bid to secure safety in the division with a crucial 1-0 win at Shrewsbury in their last game. The 'Shrews' were in fifth from bottom place, so anything other than a win would have meant the Latics being a minimum of nine points from safety. With a break of 11 days before the next game, John Sheridan emphasised the important role that newly re-signed Anthony Gerrard played in the win.
Sheridan said, “He has been here before. He knows the club and knows the team. He is what we need. He is experienced and vocal. He demands things and isn’t frightened to get on to players. That’s what we missed. We got the result we were after and three points we need. The performance merited it. We were the better team and deserved the result. We could have possibly scored a couple more goals. I’m chuffed to bits for the players and the fans who travelled down. The performance was really good at times and when we had to defend we got heads on it and defended really well. I was pleased; the players gave me a lot of good football.