Wigan Athletic Boss Admits To Disciplining Star Attacker
Despite having a strong season thus far, Stephen Humphrys did not make the starting eleven for Wigan Athletic’s humiliating 4-1 loss against Bristol Rovers this past weekend.
According to FBref, the 26-year-old is tied for tenth in League One for goal contributions after scoring three goals and dishing out one assist this season.
The former Shrewsbury Town forward has consistently started on the right side of the Latics’ 4-2-3-1 this season, making him one of the first names on head coach Shaun Maloney’s teamsheets. Prior to yesterday’s match at the Memorial Stadium, the management chose to start Fulham loanee Martial Godo.
Ten minutes into the second half, Humphrys finally entered the game to replace Thelo Asgaard on the wings, but his entry didn’t make much of a difference because the former FA Cup champions were already down 3-1.
Speaking after the game, manager Maloney revealed that Humphrys’ omission from the starting eleven was due to a disciplinary issue as opposed to a knock [quotes via Wigan Today]
“It was really difficult because it wasn’t a footballing decision. Stephen is a very good kid, and he’s been brilliant since I’ve been here but he was late to a team meeting this week.
“Everyone is pretty clear there is a culture at the training ground, in terms of everyone being as punctual as they can.
“When somebody drops below that, I have to make a very tough decision, for the good of the group,” he continued.
“It’s done, though, the matter is now closed, and it’s back to training on Monday with a clean slate.”
Writer’s View
Maloney is not the first manager to discipline a player for a lack of punctuality but it always looks worse when the team ends up losing. Hindsight, unfortunately, is 20/20.
Despite the result, it’s encouraging that Maloney is not only trying to get points on the board but is also looking to set the culture at the DW Stadium, something that was desperately missing last season.
