Sunday 7 August 2016 12:25, UK
Lee Johnson believes he has signed one of the hottest striking properties in English football in Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham.
And judging by the impact the teenager made on his debut as a 65th-minute substitute, the City head coach could be spot-on.
Trailing to Alex Gilbey's side-footed goal on 32 minutes, the hosts launched a second-half onslaught that was eventually rewarded when Abraham, recruited on a season-long loan, nodded home from close range following an 81st-minute corner.
The winner came on 90 minutes when Bobby Reid, another substitute, deliberately deflected Gary O'Neil's shot from outside the box to wrong-foot Wigan goalkeeper Adam Bogdan.
Johnson said: "We put an awful lot of work into signing Tammy Abraham, meeting his parents and convincing Chelsea of our philosophy. But we felt he was worth waiting for. He is a top talent and we now have two centre forwards capable of getting a lot of goals this season.
"I am looking forward to helping a top young player improve. He is a very grounded lad with great parents and we need to keep his feet on the ground and help him develop."
Of his side's performance, Johnson added: "It was a fantastic result from what was always going to be a tough game. Our second-half display was awesome, full of power and pace on a hot afternoon in a cauldron atmosphere.
"By the end of the game with our three subs used we had the most attacking team we can possibly field. All three replacements did very well.
"We had a bit of a hot potato mentality in the final third during the first half and the message at half-time was that we needed to be more assured with our final ball.
"After the interval that was the case and overall I am really pleased with the mentality of our substitutes, the form of the new signings and three opening day points."
Wigan boss Gary Caldwell admitted his side were outplayed after the interval, having shown great promise for 45 minutes.
He said: "First half we played very well and deserved to be in front. But in the second half it seemed a case of when, not if, they were going to score. They have had the lion's share of possession and in the end we could have no complaints.
"We didn't play as we can or control the ball as we usually do. You wanted to get off to a good start and the second-half display was very disappointing.
"Our wing-backs didn't keep their full-backs from getting forward and our centre-backs didn't deal with their strikers.
"The first half was very positive and we can take a lot from it. If we had continued in the same way I couldn't see us losing.
"Our squad looks light and we need to strengthen with some new faces who can add some quality at Championship level.
"The players we have need some help. We showed for 45 minutes that if we stick to our game plan we can do well, but we have to maintain our form for 90 minutes."
