Paul Cook toasts a week to remember after Wigan lift League One title

Posted Sunday, May 06, 2018 by PA

Paul Cook said he knew exactly how Wigan fans felt after clinching the Sky Bet League One title, having watched his beloved Liverpool reach the Champions League final in Rome earlier this week.

Will Grigg’s 26th goal of the season secured a 1-0 win over Doncaster on Saturday and confirmed Latics would be going up to the second tier as champions, as they did in 2016.

It rounded off a fine week personally for Cook, who was in Italy to watch Jurgen Klopp’s Reds finish the job at the Stadio Olimpico to set up a European Cup final against Real Madrid later this month.

Speaking after Latics had sealed the title in front of a 4,000-strong travelling support in Yorkshire, Cook said: “I was lucky enough to be with the Liverpool fans in Rome, I’m a Liverpool fan as everyone knows.

“That feeling that a supporter gets from seeing his team do well is so special. It really, really is.

“Our fans have felt that and I’m hoping and praying that Liverpool fans will feel that in Kiev when we go there (for the Champions League final).”

It was confirmed earlier this year that Wigan were in advanced talks with a group over a possible takeover for a club that has been owned by the Whelan family since 1995.

Both owner David Whelan and his grandson and current chairman David Sharpe were in Yorkshire to witness the title celebrations and Cook paid tribute to them.

“Our chairman’s been magnificent with me, it’s always been a great relationship, it really has,” added Cook, who was appointed 12 months ago.

“The Whelan family deserve so much praise. Everybody knows there’s a bit of a takeover going on at the minute.

“If the Whelan family were to pass the club on… if the next people that come in are half as good as the previous, then everybody will be happy.”

Doncaster boss Darren Ferguson was not in attendance at the Keepmoat Stadium due to “family reasons” and it was later revealed his father, former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, had undergone emergency surgery on Saturday for a brain haemorrhage.

In his absence, Rovers assistant Gavin Strachan led the team.

“I just got a phone call late morning from the chief executive (Gavin Baldwin) just to tell me that Darren had some family issues,” Strachan explained.

“He got in touch with me and said, ‘Could I take the team?’ All the preparations were done anyway, that’s all I knew really.

“I’ve not spoken to (Darren Ferguson) today, everything was signed off on Friday. Everybody knew what they were doing. It was just a case of myself, the staff, the players, putting the manager’s wishes into motion.

“It can be an awkward situation if you put yourself in the shoes of the players, when you tell them just before the game that their manager’s not going to be here, it can maybe cause a bit of confusion but I thought they handled themselves really, really professionally.”