Gary Caldwell admitted that his first taste of management was crazy after Wigan’s 2-2 draw at Fulham.
The point leaves Wigan staring relegation in the face- seven points adrift of Rotherham with just four matches left to play.
Caldwell slipped into the manager’s office within minutes of Malky Mackay clearing out his belongings and loved every minute of last night’s Craven Cottage thriller.
“I have just said to the players that I feel very proud of them considering we only had two days to work,” the former Celtic defender said.
“It’s crazy, absolutely crazy. An all-consuming job but I loved every minute of it and can’t wait for the next one. I’ve had a lot of managers texting me saying ‘welcome to the madhouse’ and I can see what they mean.
“We’ll try to win every game, there’s 12 points to play for and we’ll try to win every one and see what happens.
“It’s going to be a long process to get the club to where we want it to be but tonight was the way we want to play, that’s how this club got success.”
At 32 Caldwell is the youngest manager in England and was given a coaching job by the club when he announced his retirement at the start of the season.
He added: “Tonight it was more than I could have hoped for, especially after going behind so early.
“The lads showed a lot of character to stick by our game plan, because the nervousness could have forced us to kick it long, instead we kept playing and passing.”