Filan is Wigan's cure

John Filan has filled the gap left by Roy Carroll

Wigan manager Paul Jewell hopes to have ended the club's goalkeeping jinx with the £600,000 capture of Blackburn's John Filan

Filan has filled the void left by Roy Carroll's move to Manchester United, and helped Wigan stretch their unbeaten run to six games at Oldham.

Jewell moved for the Australian international after Derek Stillie joined summer signing Stewart Kerr and youngster Scott Tynan on the sidelines with injury.

The Latics boss was delighted to finally get his man.

Jewell said: "Any side in the First or Second Division would have missed Roy Carroll but hopefully John is going to go a long way to filling that gap.

"We tried to get him in the summer but Blackburn wanted more money than we've paid for him now.

We would have liked to have signed Jeff Kenna but we couldn't agree terms

Paul Jewell

"He's shown a lot of commitment to come here because he's had to take a significant drop in wages from a Premiership club like Blackburn."

Jewell will not make it a Blackburn one-two after admitting that Jeff Kenna will not be returning to the JJB Stadium following a recent loan spell.

Jewell said: "We would have liked to have signed him. He would have been a great addition to our squad but we couldn't agree terms."

Wigan are recovering from a disappointing start and having climbed into mid-table, Jewell can see clear light at the end of the tunnel.

He said: "I'm not saying we've turned the corner yet but we're certainly headed in the right direction.

"Earlier in the season we were going into games not feeling as confident as we should have been and while we're not getting carried away we're feeling a lot better than before."