'Let's show same attitude as Sunderland performance', says Kirkland

Among the many positives to take from Saturday's performance at Sunderland was the return to action of Chris Kirkland, coming back from a shoulder injury to give a confident display.

Kirkland hadn't featured since Latics' 2-0 win at Wolves in January and despite being delighted to be playing again he explained that there was a bigger picture to bear in mind:

"I feel okay. I've done bits and bobs all week, trained on Thursday and Friday, but I generally do heal very quickly," said Kirkland.

"I've been very well looked after by the medical staff as well, and I wanted to get back as soon as possible.

"I was just happy to be out there, but it's not just about individuals. If I hadn't played, somebody else would have, and it's always about the team.

"As long as the team is doing well, then nothing else matters. We have got a big squad here and most of the players in the dressing room will get used between now and the end of the season.

"It's difficult for the lads who haven't been playing, and they're coming in training hard every day, but they have to be ready for the chance whenever it comes.

"Hopefully the new lads can hit the ground running as well. I've seen a bit of all the lads in training and they all look very decent signings.

On the game itself, Kirky admitted that whilst the three points were there for the taking, there was plenty to take from the performance going into Tuesday night's clash with Stoke City.

"We're disappointed, because we had a couple of chances at 1-0, and if one of those had gone in then I'm confident we would have held on.

"We expected Sunderland, as the home side and with the quality players they have, to come back at us, and they did.

"But the positives we have to take are we would probably have lost this game a few weeks ago after they got back on level terms.

"This time we showed great resilience and a strong mental attitude to see out the game, which we haven't done often enough this season. Hopefully we can build on it and set a platform.

"This is a tough place to come, and we have to pick ourselves up now for another difficult game on Tuesday against Stoke.

"If we can show the same attitude that we did at Sunderland, and we have a bit of luck on Tuesday, then hopefully we can get a good win at home.

"We've got a few knocks from Saturday but hopefully we'll have everyone fit for Stoke."

Two of the main talking points of the game at the Stadium of Light were the magnificent strike from Momo Diame which brought the opening goal, and the somewhat bizarre decision by the officials to play seven minutes of added time. Kirkland gave his view on both matters:

"It was a great strike from Momo. He did well to win the ball in the midfield, carried on and hit an absolute rocket into the top corner. He does that quite a bit in training, to be honest.

"Their goalkeeper then made a very good save to deny James, and there were a few balls going in there that we just couldn't get on the end of.

"When the board went up I thought it as another seven minutes that we could have got a winning goal, and a lot of the other lads thought that which shows how positive we are as a squad."