Wigan Athletic striker Arouna Kone admits their clash with Tottenham is 'life or death'.

The Ivorian admits the clash is a must-win.

Kone said: "We are prepared to live for weeks under severe emotion and pressure. Our schedule is hard. We needs 10 points from five matches to make all our rivals at the bottom nervous.

"The key is to win at home, so we must beat Spurs. I'm hoping we won't suffer until the very last day but it's true - that game with Villa could be life or death.

"But morale in the dressing-room is high despite the pressure.

"And Wigan have overcome more difficult situations in other years. As for myself, I am happy with my total but if I score goals and the suffer relegation you can hardly say my work was positive."