'Best decision I've made to join Wigan Athletic'

The big centre-back was Latics’ first summer signing, joining on a free transfer after turning down a new deal at Portsmouth.

He’s impressed during all four pre-season matches, and admits any lingering doubts about uprooting his family from the south coast have already long gone.

“I’m loving it here,” he said.

“I’m working with different staff and players here. But it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a while.

“It’s something I’m so glad I’ve done, because I’m going out of my comfort zone moving four hours away from home, and it’s the best decision that I’ve made.

“I’m enjoying every minute from day one to now and I can see myself enjoying the whole entire time. I’m really excited.”

Latics head into Friday’s fifth pre-season friendly against Preston looking to continue their 100 per cent record.

After seeing off Oldham, Fylde and Bootle, Latics added the scalp of Championship side Stoke thanks to goals from Callum Lang and Stephen Humphrys.

“It was a good performance,” acknowledged Whatmough.

“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against in pre-season, you’ve got to get wins and that’s what we’ve done.

‘We’re building towards a tough season and it’s going to be hard next year in League One so we’ve got to put those performances in and get wins no matter who we’re playing.

“They had different movements with stronger and quicker players, which we’ll probably face in League One this year, so it’s good to play the teams that we’ve played so far.

“Tonight was a step up for us all and we’ve dealt with it well, preparing for the first game against Sunderland next weekend.”

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