WIGAN, England (AP) – The Wigan players beaten 9-1 by Tottenham agreed yesterday to refund the cost of match tickets for their fans.

Wigan conceded a Premier League record-equalling number of goals at White Hart Lane on Sunday, with Jermain Defoe scoring five of Tottenham’s eight in the second half.

“We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday, and this is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty,” Wigan defender Mario Melchiot said.

“As a group of professionals, we were embarrassed by the way we performed. We feel it was below our standards and this is something we feel we owe to the fans.”

Wigan declined to say how many of its fans were at the game – likely to be fewer than 1,000 – but said the amount the players would pay out would be “a five-figure sum”.

Although Wigan do not have a huge following and averages around 17,000 fans for home games, the supporters who made a round trip of 560 kilometres (350 miles) to north London and back had a grim day as their team went into the record books for the wrong reasons.

Wigan’s worst ever defeat also tied some Premier League records.

Ipswich are the only other team to concede nine goals in a Premier League game, against Manchester United in 1995. Defoe matched the record of five goals in a game held by Man United’s Andy Cole (against Ipswich) and Newcastle’s Alan Shearer (against Sheffield Wednesday in 1999).

Also, Wigan’s lone goal, by Paul Scharner with the score at 3-0, looked dubious because he controlled the ball with his arm before scoring.

Melchiot, a 33-year-old Dutch defender who has also played for Ajax, Chelsea, Birmingham and Rennes, said the Wigan players were anxious to put Sunday’s debacle behind them.

“Now, we have to draw a line under the game, focus completely on training this week and bounce back on Saturday (against Sunderland),” he said. “We are professionals. We will take it on the chin and move on.”