Paul Cook said the goals his Wigan side conceded against Rovers were ‘absolutely criminal’.

Danny Graham scored from the spot after Reece James fouled Harrison Reed, and added to his tally in the second half, before Bradley Dack rounded off the scoring late on.

The final two Rovers goals came from defensive mix-ups, though Cook refused to criticise his players after the defeat which leaves the Latics deep in a relegation battle.

For Rovers, it was a first win since January, and moves them to 47 points with nine games remaining.

“Where do you start and finish with that?” Cook told the Wigan Post.

“I’m certainly not going to criticise my players, that’s not my style as a manager.

“But I think it’s fair to say it’s probably the most disappointing night we’ve had.

“The disappointment and the pain must set in, and the reality is we are in a really deep struggle at the minute.

“It is certainly not a night for putting rallying cries out, I’m not a manager like that.

“I think the best way to respond to pain is make sure you take it in, and make sure you see a reaction.”

Wigan face a huge game on Saturday when they welcome fellow strugglers Bolton to the DW Stadium, with Cook hoping for a response from his side.

Cook, who lost Nathan Byrne to illness on the day of the game, added:  “Fans don’t want to hear that, they don’t want to hear the excuses, saying a load of nonsense, and all that stuff.

“Sometimes I think it’s better for managers to not just tell supporters what they want to hear. I’m a supporter myself.

“If you don’t feel deep pain, there’s something deeply wrong.

“Whatever I say won’t make it right.

“Hopefully by 5pm on Saturday night, we’ll have been able to make it right.”

Rovers’ first goal came from the penalty spot after Chelsea loanee James caught Reed with a high boot.

On the award, Cook said: “I don’t think that’s the biggest debate.

“We had chances ourselves after that we couldn’t take, and the goals we conceded after that were absolutely criminal.”