Wigan Athletic boss outlines January transfer plans

That’s the message from boss Leam Richardson, who admits work is already well under way to bring in the reinforcements he needs for the second half of the campaign.

“I think you’re always looking forward to the next transfer window,” he said.

“You can’t afford to be reactive, which is the position we found ourselves in last year, which was so frustrating.

“It’s important you carry on building from each window to the next.

“I don’t think you’re ever going to solve every single one of your problems in one window.

“If you look at the really successful football clubs, it takes them maybe five, six, seven windows to get to where they want to be.

“We’ve already started those conversations about what might happen in January, and in which areas we might feel we need to improve.

“And it’s not just improvement in the short term, it’s also looking to the medium and long term as well.”

Richardson was the busiest manager in the summer transfer window, given he started off with only five contracted players.

But he says that whirlwind recruitment perhaps led to a false impression of the size of the Wigan squad.

“I think when people looked at us bringing in 15 or 16 players in the summer, they maybe thought our squad was a little bit stronger than it perhaps is,” he said.

“We’ve probably been fortunate to carry that squad for as long as we did without injuries starting to bite. And it’s important we address that situation in January.

“You build recruitment teams, you build departments so that you’re ready to go if and when opportunities present themselves.

“Certainly since I’ve been here, we’ve always looked to be as active as we possibly can be, and strengthened in every window.

“We’ve managed to become a more rounded team in every window, and I don’t think this one will be any different.

“We’re looking across the board rather than any specific position. You wouldn’t turn anything down if it meant improving what we have here.”

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