Wigan Athletic manager Paul Cook says he hopes Leeds United win promotion to the Premier League this season, because their fans deserve success.

Cook's side dealt Leeds' hopes of a return to the top-flight a heavy blow on Saturday afternoon, as a fluke own goal from Pablo Hernandez handed Wigan a 1-0 win at Elland Road, to leave the Yorkshire club just three points clear of the play-off places in the race for automatic promotion, having won just one of their last five league games.

It seems however, as Cook does not want his own team's success to come at Leeds expense, as when speaking about the promotion hopes of Marcelo Bielsa's side after that match, the Wigan manager was quoted by Leeds Live as saying: “I would really like to wish Leeds well. They’re a fantastic club. Like every big club, I really hope it goes well for the supporters because these fans are such strong supporters.

“They deserve the success and I really hope that success comes this year for them.”

That win over Leeds on Saturday is only Wigan's second away victory since their win at Elland Road on Good Friday, and moves them to within two points of safety at the bottom of the Championship table.

The Verdict

Despite Cook's best wishes, you can't help but fear for Leeds at the minute.

Not only has this recent run given the chasing pack the opportunity to close the gap on Marcelo Bielsa's side, but it also has worrying similarities to the loss of form that cost Leeds automatic promotion at the end of last season - not least the defeat to Wigan at Elland Road.

That is something that will not have gone unnoticed around Leeds, which will only serve to add to the nerves and tension around the club, further applying the pressure and potentially making wins harder to come by.

For Wigan however, this represents a huge win, and it is results such as this and their win over Sheffield Wednesday that will give them both the points and belief they need to get themselves out of trouble at the wrong end of the table.