'Not that type of player': Wigan boss backs 'gutted' forward following career first - then offers former Pompey favourite brutal words of advice
Former Pompey forward Christian Saydee was sent off for the first time in his career during Wigan's 2-2 draw with Ryley Towler's Lincoln on Saturday
Wigan boss Ryan Lowe has defended Christian Saydee after the former Pompey favourite saw red in the Latics’ 2-2 draw with Lincoln on Saturday.
The popular forward was sent off for the first time in his 147-game career after an incident with the Imps’ Tom Bayliss in the League One fixture.
The 68th-minute incident, which can bee seen here - saw Saydee attempt to shield the ball from the incoming Lincoln midfielder - not long after he set up Callum Wright’s second-half equaliser in an entertaining game at Sincil Bank.
Instead, though, he caught the former Preston North End man around the ankle with his studs, giving referee Alan Young no option but to dismiss the striker.
Wigan boss Ryan Lowe on Christian Saydee red card v Lincoln
Afterwards, Lowe stood by his player by insisting there was nothing malicious in Saydee’s actions and that he wasn’t ‘that type of player’.
However, he told the ‘gutted’ 23-year-old that he would have to take Young’s decision on the chin, with an automatic three-game ban the consequence.
Lowe told Wigan Today: ‘Chris is gutted, because he's not that type of player is he? He hasn't tried to hurt anyone, all he's tried to do is get his body across.
‘His leg makes contact a little on him. Is it a red, is it a yellow? I don't know nowadays. If VAR was involved, it probably would be a red card, so I have no real complaints with it.
‘Chris just has to take his medicine and get on with it.’
Christian Saydee suspension will be a blow to Wigan
The three-match ban Saydee faces will come as a huge blow to both the player and the Latics.
Since joining the League One side from Pompey for an undisclosed fee in June, the former Bournemouth and Shrewsbury attacker has settled in brilliantly and already established himself as a fan favourite at the DW Stadium.
He’s started six of the Latics’ seven league games to date, scored two goals and recorded an assist as he thrives with the gift of regular game time.
That wasn’t something the League One title-winner was guaranteed with the Blues in this season’s Championship - hence the decision to quit Fratton Park after two years and five goals in 65 league appearances.
To find himself back on a watching brief for the forthcoming games against Doncaster Rovers, Bolton and Wycombe will, therefore, be a disappointment for a player who always gives his all once he steps onto the pitch.
It will also give Lowe a massive selection headache at a time when his side sit 14th in the table with two wins from their opening seven games of the new League One season.
Saydee v Towler in draw at Sincil Bank
Incidentally, Saydee found himself up against former Fratton Park team-mate Ryley Towler when Wigan visited Lincoln at the weekend.
Like the forward, the defender has quickly settled into his new surroundings following his summer switch from Fratton Park and started all of the Imps’ league games to date.
He also provided an assist for the second of James Collins’ two goals against the Latics, with the result leaving Towler & Co eighth in the table and just one point off the play-off positions.
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