Alex Neil admitted the result was the only thing that mattered after Stoke ended a three-game losing run with a 1-0 victory at fellow Sky Bet Championship strugglers Wigan.

Josh Tymon marked his return to the starting XI for the first time in two months with the only goal just after the hour mark.

Wigan battled hard but saw a stoppage-time effort from Tom Naylor ruled out as they fell to a seventh defeat in eight matches.

“The importance of the result was the biggest thing for me,” said Stoke manager Neil.

“Football’s a funny old game…we’ve come away from the last three games, in ...