Anxious injury worry over Jacobs

Two goals from Will Grigg - one in either half - saw off the Saddlers to give Latics their eighth win from 11 league games this term.

But boss Paul Cook is hoping the half-time withdrawal of Jacobs came before he suffered any serious damage.

“He wasn’t moving like Michael Jacobs does, and we weren’t taking any chances with him,” revealed Cook.

“This is where it’s important that the fans back us with what we do.

“I’m not trying to be clever as a manager, I’m not one for making tactical changes for the sake of it.

“Michael was feeling his thigh from very early in the game, and we certainly don’t want to be without him for a length of time.”

Despite hitting the ground running, Cook feels a squad most regard as the strongest in League One is beginning to feel the effects of SEVEN games in September.

“The squad is starting to get a little bit stretched now, and we’ll have a look at that this week,” acknowledged the Latics boss.

“We’ve decided to play Scunthorpe next week - even though we could have called off the game due to international call-ups - because we don’t want to get involved with a fixture pile-up.”

Cook also revealed he is also looking ahead to the January transfer window, and the chance to add numbers to his pool.

“We always knew it was going to be a difficult start, after the pre-season we had - with players coming in and going out,” he added.

“The dust has well and truly settled now, but our squad is nowhere near the finished article.

“We have positions we have to strengthen, and we know that.

“But the club’s in good hands, and I’m sure in January we’ll be able to do that.”