Latics '˜very close' to new signings - Cook

Cook and Latics rounded off a ‘difficult’ week - in which Max Power, Omar Bogle and Jack Byrne were removed from the first-team squad and made available for transfer - with a 1-1 draw at Grimsby on Saturday. in their final pre-season friendly.

But of far more importance is the work going on off the field, with Latics on the verge of tying up quality additions ahead of the big kick-off next weekend.

“It’s very easy for me to speculate, but we are actually very near, very close,” Cook told the Wigan Post.

“Fingers crossed by Monday we should have something to report.

“We’re very hopeful of getting them in early, and that’s great credit to the chairman, who has backed us no end.

“We sit down most days and go through the numbers and what we want to do.

“And it’s not easy to just get people to leave - it’s not like that, football.

“You’ve got to remember that footballers are people as well, and it’s their lives you’re talking about.

“It’s not about any particular issue, or about a clash of personalities.

“It’s just making decisions we feel are for the benefit of the football club.

“But there are going to be players coming in, for sure, and there are going to be players going out, for sure.”

When asked specifically about Power - who revealed on Thursday he had expressed a desire to leave if an offer was received from a Championship club - Cook played a textbook straight bat of which his namesake Alastair would have been proud.

“I’m not going to go into each player in turn - I’m genuinely not,” the Latics boss said.

“People these days will always have their say, but there’s two sides to every story.

“I’m just going to let the club do our announcements as we do them.

“We want to conduct ourselves as professionally as we possibly can.

“These are all football decisions, and I’m sure our supporters will back me to make the decisions I feel are right for the football club.”

He did, however, confirm that Power, Bogle and Byrne were out of his plans at least until the end of the transfer window.

“We won’t be seeing them at the minute, no,” Cook admitted.

“The transfer window is what it is.

“If the window was to close, and they are still at the club, then we would have to look at it again in a different light.

“But for the rest of the window, the lads will be away from the rest of the group.

“We’ll be concentrating more on bringing players in, and I’m sure you’ll be happy with the additions that will be coming in - which I feel will be exciting for the club.”