CLEVERLEY PLEASED WITH CHARACTER

On loan winger Tom Cleverley said he is pleased with the team attitude shown in coming from behind twice to earn a valuable point against Stoke City on Saturday. The tricky midfielder scored Latics' second goal and put in a man-of-the-match performance but said it was the spirit of the team that had impressed him:"We showed a lot of character against a team who are usually very good at holding onto leads," he said, "so from that point of view we're very happy.

" Tom added that he thought Latics were unfortunate not to grab all three points in an end-to-end game: "I think we've played very well at home lately to be fair and we were maybe a bit unlucky not to get all three points against Stoke.

"It was a tough game, and a draw at the end of the day probably suites both sides. "There could very easily have been more than four goals but both goalkeepers managed to pull off some fantastic saves at both ends."

Tom has impressed everybody since his arrival in the summer and the player is pleased with his current form on the pitch. "It's always a big confidence boost when you get on the score-sheet and I feel as though I'm really expressing myself at the moment, growing in confidence and very happy all round. "As a creative midfielder you have to create opportunities for your team-mates and try to get a few goals yourself."

Tom admitted there was some good fortune involved in his goal, but said that was something that had been lacking recently.

"I got a little stroke of luck in my goal, as did Stoke for their opener, but you need that sometimes and it's probably something we've not had a lot of lately. "As one of the attacking players it's up to me to get forward, create chances and get goals myself and I enjoy doing it."

Latics travel to Goodison Park this weekend hoping to build on Saturday's performance bu tTom acknowledges the next run of games are crucial in the effort to climb out of the relegation zone.

"The Gaffer has said that the next seven games are massive for us and we'll be treating them all as cup-finals.

"The Everton game is no different, we'll got there with the same attitude and with a lot of confidence after a solid performance against Stoke."