Steve Coppell has pledged not to use Wigan's poor pitch as an excuse if Reading slip further into relegation trouble at The JJB on Saturday.Most Premier League rivals have condemned the bumpy, rutted surface which Wigan share with rugby league side Wigan Warriors as a disgrace. Even Latics manager Steve Bruce - whose team need one more win to cement their own top-flight safety - has said it is far from acceptable

But Coppell, after seeing Reading crash to a third consecutive defeat at Arsenal last weekend, has admitted: "They (Wigan) are more used to playing on that kind of pitch and I know quite a few people have complained, but it is the same for both teams and I don't think it is an advantage to either side.

"The only thing that could benefit Wigan is that they know that teams don't like playing on a surface like that and they are almost frightened by it. We will have to deal with that."

Reading are dangerously near to the bottom three again and Coppell has already predicted they won't know their fate until the final game of the season at Derby. He told the Reading Evening Post: "There can be some strange results at this stage of the season and there will be more twists and turns to come. Nothing is done and dusted yet."

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