"I know Lennie Lawrence well and have felt for him in the last few weeks as things have become hard for him down there," he told Wigan's official website.
"He is doing a good job in trying circumstances though and deserves great credit for that. Their win at Stoke in midweek was a fine one and hopefully they can now build on that, but not until after Saturday's game. In my opinion they have the squad to get out of trouble and I expect them to do so.
"However, their plight is not what we're interested in, we're interested in winning the game to get back into second place. It might only be for a couple of days but it will show that we have bounced back which is vitally important. The atmosphere may be a tense one as both clubs need the points, but I want our players to go there, relax and try to play their football.