Hughton MUST have seen his right-back taken to the cleaners by Toon old boy Charles N’Zogbia – as expected - but the Newcastle boss claims his summer signing is "in reasonably consistent form".
WHAT THE HELL IS HE ON ABOUT?
The fact is - Perch is about to be the target of the Boo-Boys and Hughton has a major decision to make - before HE becomes the target too.
Chris Hughton: “I would look at it over a period of games and I think since the start of the season he’s been in reasonably consistent form.
“He’s a lad that is still learning. He’s new to the Premier League which is the same case with others in the team. He’ll get stronger with the experiences.
“I think it was a massively important point.
“We were at home, we set our stall out and with the formation we had we set out to win the game.
“We knew we were on the back of two home defeats and it’s not something that we wanted to continue. St James’ was a fortress last year and the only way we can do that is to draw out some results here.
“We showed our intent with the formation we went for but there was difficulties in that. They kept the ball very well and in a first-half period we had times when we weren’t keeping it well enough.
“In the end we showed great character and quality towards the end to get back into it.
“I thought it was a very well deserved point in the end. We battled hard against a very good and very well-drilled Wigan side that showed why they have got results away from home that they have got.
“We showed great spirit and determination in the second half – hence why we got the point.
“It was a classic case of digging something out. What we have is great character – I was always aware of that. We have been able to create a bit of spirit, that is what the players have done."