[Official Site] Stephens Relishing Wigan Challenge

PUBLISHED
05:00 22nd February 2014
by Ben Soro-Perez
Dale Stephens says Albion are relishing the upcoming clash against play-off rivals Wigan Athletic.*
New manager Uwe Rosler has rejuvenated Wigan, who leapfrogged Albion in the table with a 2-0 win over Barnsley on Tuesday - but Stephens says he and his teammates have the opportunity to wrestle back the initiative from the visitors.*
He told seagulls.co.uk, “It’s a massive game because they are close to us in the table so it’s a great opportunity – if we get the right result.” *
“These are the types of games we want to play in and we’re in the right place in the table to put some distance between them and us.*
“They’re a good side and they play good football. They’ve got Premier League players in the team and they showed last week they can still compete at that level. *They beat Cardiff so we’ve got to take them very seriously." *
The January transfer window signing also highlighted the importance of staying resilient at the back adding, “We’re keeping clean sheets and in this division that’s key.*
“The more clean sheets we keep, the more chances we have of winning games and while we haven’t been scoring too many, we have bundles of quality.*
“If we can keep the goals out of one end then I’m sure we can pick up more at the other.
“We’ve been very solid since I arrived and we’ve been playing well at home and long may that continue."


Stephens is cup-tied for the Hull game
Meanwhile Stephens believes Albion should be confident of securing a win at Hull City on Monday in their FA Cup replay – even though he is disappointed to be cup-tied.
“I knew before I signed that I wouldn’t be involved in the FA Cup so it was disappointing as it’s a great competition to be involved in, but I watched the game [last week] and the lads did really well.
“It was a little disappointing not to get the victory in the end but we’ll go up there confident that we can do the job.*
“It was live on TV and everyone knows what this club is about now and the style of football that we play – but it was only half a job and we’ll go there looking to put it right.”
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