Emmerson Boyce: I'd love to see both Luton and Wigan stay up

Former Luton and Wigan defender Emmerson Boyce would love to see both of his old clubs stay up this season ahead of their meeting at the DW Stadium this weekend.

The 40-year-old started his career at Kenilworth Road, making his debut as a 19-year-old in January 1999, going on to play 212 games, scoring nine goals.

He left on a free to join Crystal Palace in July 2004, before moving to Wigan in August 2006 where he featured well over 250 times, winning the FA Cup in 2013 and playing Europa League football.

Speaking exclusively to the Luton News about Saturday's game, Boyce said: “I’ve seen both of them quite a lot over the course of the season and I think Graeme Jones’ teams are how Wigan were under (Roberto) Martinez, frustrating one week and then have a magnificent performance the week after.

“Their form is quite similar, but it’s going to be a really, really interesting game.

“I’m going down myself at the weekend and I guess whoever can hold their nerves will walk away with the points.

“Luton are at the bottom, people wrote them off, they thought it was done and dusted, but they’ve got a couple of magnificent results.

“The Brentford one was a huge one, and Stoke, keeping them in contact, that’s what they can do, keep in contact and hope.

“Looking at the Wigan results, they’ve won three games and have done really well pushing them out of the bottom three.

“They've beaten West Brom, people will be expecting them to win, whereas Luton are stuttering, people have written them off quite a lot already.

"There’ll be huge pressure on Wigan in terms of getting a result, avoiding defeat and pulling away from the relegation zone.

"But Luton can go into the game knowing if they win, they can pull them right back into it, so it’s going to be an interesting game and tactics will be a major factor, but which team is braver?

“It’s an interesting time of the season, this is the home straight now and fingers crossed both of them can get out of trouble, difficult as it might seem.

“I hope they can and look forward to next season in the Championship.”

Although both camps will no doubt try and play down the significant of the contest, with Wigan six points above Luton and just 10 matches to go, Boyce knows the consequences of a win for either side are huge.

He continued: “It’s a massive game, I watched Wigan at the weekend at West Brom and they had a fantastic performance and got a result.

“Luton have been up and down, been getting the results which have been keeping them in touch, so it’s a massive six pointer.

“Obviously Luton walked away with the points last game (2-1 win), and it will be very interesting at the DW.

“I thought Wigan were the better side at Kenilworth Road, but Luton came through in the second half.

“It’s going to be very, very difficult, the DW is a hard place for many a team to go to and get a result, but Graeme Jones is going back and Callum McManaman is going back as well.

“It will be an interesting game and I think it will be a game of whoever can keep their nerves.

"It's a game Luton are looking to claw back points and it’s more important for them not to lose.

"If they can’t win the game, it's even more important as if Wigan win, they’ll think they’re a couple of victories and then they’re out of it.

"But if Luton can just peg them back, it keeps them in touching distance.

"I think Luton have to go there to try and win the game, the pitch will suit them, the style of play.

"Luton will learn a lot from the last game at Kenilworth Road, but the more pressure to win the game is on Luton.

"If Wigan can get away with a draw, it keeps Luton the same distance away from them.

“I’ll go 2-2, I want to see a few goals, and a last minute equaliser from somebody.”

Going into the clash, both sides have hit real form, winning three from five, although Wigan have remained unbeaten in that sequence, gleaning an extra point.

Boyce feels that Town boss Jones’ knowledge of surviving from relegation in the Premier League when the pair were at the Latics between 2009-13, will come into play.

He said: “With Graeme’s experience, I’m sure he’ll say, if a Wigan team that everyone wrote off, can go out and beat the top teams, then Luton should be going into games thinking we’ve got a chance of beating them.

"I think he will use that as motivation, from his own experience, not to over panic and be calm, go about his business slowly and surely, one game at a time.

“Hopefully, fingers crossed, Luton can get themselves in touching distance for the last few games of the season to be able to pull themselves out.

Finally, when asked to pick his star performers on both sides, Boyce said: "(Sam) Morsy, he for me is a fantastic player, everything seems to go through him when Wigan are playing well.

"For Luton, there’s a few players, (Kazenga) LuaLua, if they can get him on the ball and he starts driving, (James) Collins who can put away the chances.

"It depends on who can play the best and without sitting on the fence, I think it could be a draw."