Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was pleased to get through but not happy with his side’s performance after their FA Cup win against Wigan.
The Foxes eased into the fourth round with a 2-0 victory at the King Power Stadium on Saturday evening.
With a Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Aston Villa on the horizon in four day’s time, Rodgers made 10 changes from the New Year’s Day win at Newcastle.
Only left-back Ben Chilwell kept his place, but it made little difference to the result as an own goal by Latics debutant Tom Pearce and a Harvey Barnes strike had Leicester firmly in control at half time – and that is how is stayed.
Rodgers said: “We got the result but it wasn’t really the performance we wanted. We didn’t play well, we have to play much better than that.
“For us to get through, it was very important for us. Some players came in, which was great. But we weren’t good enough on the ball. We weren’t good enough in our control of the game, especially in midfield, and we have to be cleaner.”
“We got the job done but we have to demand more. Paul Cook is a fantastic manager and Wigan have been in good form, so it’s a good win for us.”
Wigan had their moments and thought they were back in the tie after 73 minutes when substitute Jamal Lowe volleyed home Pearce’s cross, but the defender was marginally offside when delivering the ball, according to VAR.
“We were probably lucky with that so that’s something else that we have to look at and see how we can be better as well,” said Rodgers.
The win came at a cost with Wes Morgan and Filip Benkovic both substituted because of injuries. Morgan pulled up in the first half, while Benkovic, on his full debut, went off midway through the second half.
Rodgers said: “Wes looks like a groin and Filip has a pain in his knee and had to come off, so he will have a scan.”
If the injuries are serious, Leicester would be left with just two first-choice centre-backs in Caglar Soyuncu and Jonny Evans.
Wigan, winners of the competition as recently as 2013, made six changes themselves as boss Paul Cook seemingly prioritised Championship survival.
“There were a lot of plus points for us today. We finished up last week with a good win at Birmingham in the league and it was always going to be a tough test today,” said Cook.
“We remained honest but we don’t have the quality of Leicester, so now we concentrate on the league which is so important to everyone.”
On his two debutants Pearce and Kieran Dowell, Cook said: “Overall it was a good debut for Tom, I thought he was excellent.
“Kieran came to the hotel last night and was thrown in completely at the deep end, but you can see in some of his passes the quality he has. He’ll be a real asset to the club.”
