Shaun Maloney and Mike Danson discuss Wigan Athletic future

Latics are not in action until the Good Friday visit of Burton Albion, due to several of their players being called up for international duty.

In the meantime, Maloney is hoping to discover what the future holds in terms of budgets, contracts and the general ambition of the club.

"I got to spend an hour with Mr Danson last week and, although he's an extremely busy man, I know he watches all the games, and he's seen us in person four times," said Maloney.

"He's just really invested in trying to grow different parts of the club. There's a certain culture and certain environment he wants to create, and it was really positive to get that time with him, and I got a real sense he's desperate to drive us forward in a few areas.

"It wasn't so much about performances...I think that will come in the next couple of weeks...and obviously the budgets for next season.

"It was mainly about the environment and culture of the club, which is probably the most important aspect.

"I know I'll win games and I'll lose games, there'll be me or someone else sitting here - hopefully me for a good while yet - but that environment and foundation will be the foundation of the whole thing.

"And he was really enthused with what he wanted to do to create that...so it was a really good meeting."

Maloney is as desperate as any supporter to gain much-needed clarity about the future - while at the same time accepting the constraints of the situation.

"I've definitely learned to be more patient as far as that's concerned," he said. "And it is understandable, because of how quickly the club was purchased last summer...that's fine.

"Look, the first priority was always to preserve our League One status, and then we can really start to make plans in terms of pre-season, how the squad is looking, and certain budgets.

"It's been constant work during the season...so the budgets we had at the start of the season, the cost of the squad, has already been drastically reduced, from last summer's window through January's.

"And that was always the plan, because we are desperate to get as close to self-sustainability as we can.

"To do that, we have to lower some costs, and I think that has been club wise, we've all had to buy into that, and we're certainly well on the road to doing that.

"At the moment, I have no idea what the squad will look like next season. All those sort of decisions will come in the next couple of weeks."

Latics, who have seven matches of the campaign remaining, lie 15 points clear of the relegation zone.

Without the eight-point deduction imposed last summer, for issues relating to the club’s previous ownership, they would be only five points off the play-off spots.