SUPER MAC'S GOT THE GOAL KNACK

James gets in on the scoring but says points are more important


Two-goal hero James McCarthy was delighted by his brace that helped Latics clinch their sensational victory on Saturday but says the result was more important than any personal satisfaction.

The Irish international bagged one in each half to guide Latics to a 4-3 victory over Blackburn Rovers but said: “The most important thing was the result, without that the two goals would have meant nothing.”

 The 20-year-old’s first strike levelled the scores after the visitors had gone ahead, and his sublime second was worthy of winning any goal-of-the-month competition: “The first one was from a tight angle, I was wondering if I’d be able to squeeze it in.

“For the second I went to shoot and I saw the defender,” he said, “so then I knocked it back past him, and I was pleased with the finish.”

Goals have been in short supply this season for Roberto Martinez’s men but McCarthy says the belief has always been there: ““To be honest, we’ve always had confidence in the dressing room,” he said, “and the gaffer has remained supportive all season.

“I want to try and add goals to my own game and it was nice to get another two today.”

After battling through a tough first half Latics took control of the game in the second and McCarthy said: “The gaffer didn’t panic at half-time, He told us to keep working hard and play like we had towards the end of the first half.”

As the game wore on so did the deteriorating state of the pitch which added to the drama of the game, but McCarthy wasn’t fazed and said “The pitch wasn’t great but I’ll take playing it on every week if it means we get three points every week.”

Many thought McCarthy may have stepped in to take the penalty which would have completed a glorious hat-trick, but the midfielder says it was never an option: “Ben’s the penalty taker and I wasn’t about to stand in his way.”

Next up for Latics is a tough trip to Anfield on Saturday which also begins a run of some difficult looking games, but McCarthy says the side are ready for the challenge: “We’ve got Liverpool next week and this is where the run-in starts,” he says, “but hopefully these three points will give us something to build on and mean we can start looking up instead of down - we have the belief and the fight, and we will give it everything we’ve got.”