Kolo Toure insists he has no regrets at taking charge at Wigan Athletic, as the new Latics boss prepares to face Sunderland on Thursday night still looking for his first victory. Toure took charge at Wigan at the end of November but has so far picked up just a single point from his first three games at the helm, and suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat at Middlesbrough on Boxing Day which leaves the Latics next-to-bottom of the table, three points from safety.
The former Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool defender sees keeping newly-promoted Wigan in the Championship as a challenge, and says he is determined to succeed. "It was a difficult afternoon for us," he said of the defeat at Boro.
"I thought we started well and put them under pressure, but at 1-0 down we were then under pressure. I'm a guy who likes to challenge myself.
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"This [the Wigan job] is the right opportunity for me. I have no regrets, never.
"The players are good, honest people, and they are giving me their best. They are giving me everything on the training ground and on a matchday, and I can't ask for more than that."
Sunderland beat Blackburn Rovers with an injury-time goal from sub Ellis Simms at the Stadium of Light yesterday which lifted them to eighth place in the table, just a point behind fifth-placed Norwich City, and they go to the DW Stadium on Thursday night knowing another victory could see them reach the turn of the year sitting in a play-off spot. Toure said: "In a couple of days' time we are playing against another team [Sunderland], who will provide us with a different set of challenges.
"We will prepare for that as well as we can, and we'll be ready for that. This is a fantastic challenge for me - if you don't challenge yourself, you'll never know what you're capable of. I'm a guy who likes to challenge myself, and I'm very proud and very happy to do that."
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