Paul Cook feeling good about Wigan’s automatic promotion bid

Wigan manager Paul Cook “has a feeling” his side will earn automatic promotion from Sky Bet League One after watching them win 2-0 at Bury.

Nick Powell scored his 13th goal of the season on 26 minutes before Che Dunkley doubled the Latics’ lead in the 50th minute.

Rock-bottom Bury failed to fight back so Wigan moved back into the top two with a game in hand on third-placed Blackburn and two in hand on leaders Shrewsbury.

Cook said: “We’ve had big wins on the road at Bradford, Walsall and Bury which have put us in a strong position, but there’s a lot more work to be done.

“Bury were the better team for the initial stages, they caused us problems and got balls in the box.

“But with the calibre of players that we have, we knew we’d have moments in the game. The players carried that threat and we scored the first goal.

“The second half petered out, it became bitty and scrappy, but we’ve had a few games in a short space of time so we were glad to come out of them unscathed.

“I just wish Shrewsbury or Blackburn would go away! We’ve got three teams having an exceptional season and, unfortunately, one will miss out. That could well be us, but tonight it doesn’t feel like it.”

Bury’s Nathan Cameron glanced an early Jay O’Shea corner wide but the Latics took the lead against the run of play as Ryan Colclough found Michael Jacobs in the inside-left channel and his cut-back was swept in by Powell.

Just after half-time, Dunkley rose highest at the back post to head home from Max Power’s corner.

O’Shea went closest to pulling a goal back but Bury remain 10 points from safety with eight games now left.

Manager Ryan Lowe said: “It was tough but, at times, we were the best team. I’m sick of being the best team at half-time, and potentially full-time, and not getting any points.

“The effort, commitment and desire is all there, we just need a bit more quality – at both ends.

“We worked on getting lots of crosses in but maybe we need a bit more desire to get on the end of things and score, like Powell and Dunkley did for them.

“The lads are scarred from what’s happened this season and they are feeling a bit of pressure. Maybe they’re tensing up and taking risks they wouldn’t normally take.

“I’m trying to take that pressure off them and keep it as bubbly as I can. We’re ticking the games off but while we’ve still got a chance of staying up we’ll keep trying to do the right things because anything can happen.”