LAWRIE Sanchez launched a stinging attack on ex-professional footballer-turned-referee Steven Baines after Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Wigan.

The angry boss said that Baines' performance was the worst advert for people who argue former professionals would make good referees.

He slammed Baines for refusing to send off Latics' serial offender Simon Haworth and said his decisions cost Wanderers the match.

He said: "We should have been playing against ten men and if we had been we wouldn't have lost."

He added: "I thought Baines was absolutely useless. It was one of the most shocking displays of refereeing I've ever seen, compounded by the linesmen.

"What makes it worse is he's an ex-professional player. You'd think he'd know the game. His decisions for both sides were poor all afternoon."

He was furious Baines did not punish Haworth when the striker deliberately used his hand to score a disallowed goal and he was livid when the same player escaped with just a booking for poleaxing Chris Vinnicombe.

Sanchez fumed: "It's the third time we've been up here, the third time we've been the better team and the third time we've lost."

Ironically Baines was not even supposed to be in charge of last Saturday's clash at the JJB Stadium. He replaced Mike Riley who was called up to do Sunday's Manchester United v Liverpool match instead.

Sanchez said of Baines: "They must have found him Christmas shopping in Woolworths or JJB Sports down the road. How an ex-professional footballer thought that tackle on Vinnicombe was only worth a yellow card is beyond me. He took him out with both feet five minutes after the ball had gone.

"Haworth should have been sent off twice in the one afternoon and the ref did neither.

"Referees drive me barmy. I work on the assumption they're all useless but some are even more useless than others. Even Wigan's bench were perplexed."

The angry boss added: "The solution was supposed to be getting professional players to be referees but he's shown today that professional players make no better referees.

"The only solution is professional referees whose livelihood depends on them making enough right decisions but refs don't want that because they say they might be out of a job.

"They want the protection to do their day job and then come and make decisions here for whatever they get paid on Saturdays and going home and not having to worry about them."