Burton boss makes no apology for Wigan Athletic show

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (right) with Leam Richardson in the technical areaJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (right) with Leam Richardson in the technical area
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (right) with Leam Richardson in the technical area
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink made no apology for the war of attrition at the DW that saw his Burton side secure their League One status - and halt Wigan Athletic's four-game win streak.

Latics will have to wait to book their place in next season's third tier after being held to a 1-1 draw.

They couldn't quite find the heights of recent weeks - partly due to Burton's approach - but managed to come away with a draw thanks to Will Keane's header eight minutes before the break.

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The big winners were the Brewers, who looked dead and buried at the halfway point of the campaign when Hasselbaink took over from ex-Latics defender Jake Buxton in the hotseat.

But after a quite remarkable turnaround in fortunes, Hasselbaink acknowledged the final step to safety was far from pretty.

"I'm absolutely delighted to be safe with three games to go, we cannot be caught," he said.

"It was not pretty at times today, but it was never going to be pretty with two sides fighting for their lives.

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"In these kinds of matches, you end up playing the result rather than the game, and you can't do anything about that.

"The games tend to be not great spectacles, but we fought to get a foothold in the game, and we started really well.

"After the goal, we didn't play so well, and in the second half both sides cancelled each other out."

Hasselbaink's side had taken the lead on 16 minutes through a marvellous free-kick from Joe Powell that flew into the top corner of Jamie Jones' net.

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"I had a magnificent view of it, and he could not have struck it any better," Hasselbaink added.

That's the quality he has and, with that quality, he should be doing a lot more in open play.

"We will work hard on that in pre-season, and I'm delighted with him for scoring such a brilliant goal.

"The only disappointment was we didn't keep doing the things we had done to get into the lead."

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