EXCLUSIVE: PART 1 - Wigan Athletic boss Gary Caldwell reflects on the transfer window - 'I said to Ben Watson: This is crazy!'

PK: YOU SAID YOU WERE EXPECTING A HECTIC LAST COUPLE OF DAYS IN THE WINDOW...HOW DID THAT TRANSPIRE FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW?

GC: "The last few days of a transfer window are always a bit strange, and certain things can come up that you had no idea were going to come up. It can be frustrating...In fact, I spoke to Ben Watson, who's now an agent - on the 'other' side - and I said 'this is crazy, some of the things that are happening'...and he couldn't believe it either. How clubs have stances at the start of a window that change by the end, I suppose that's life. But we tried very hard to make the squad better, right up the very last minutes of the window. I think where the club is now, there's a different financial landscape to what we've seen in years gone by. We have to be very diligent in what we kind of spend, and we couldn't get players out that would have freed up money to get players in. But I still think we've done very good business overall in the window. Was I 100 per cent happy at the end? Probably not. But that's life. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you just miss out. What I will say is that, in the first four league games, this squad has shown that it has real talent, and the potential to be a really exciting team. There might be moments where we're a bit young, a bit naive. But I think the supporters saw on Wednesday (against MK Dons) a team that - with the right support and encouragement, and a bit of time - can achieve some really big things this year. And that's what we have to look forward to now, because we can't really change anything until January 1. And when that comes around, we'll be operating under a different financial landscape from what this club has been used to in the past.”

PK: THERE WAS SPECUALTION RIGHT UP UNTIL THE DEADLINE...STEPHEN HUMPHRYS, WHO WE KNOW WELL, AS WELL AS LUCA WOODHOUSE, WHO YOU HAD AT EXETER...DID IT GO RIGHT TO THE WIRE WITH SOME POSSIBLE DEALS?

GC: "Through the afternoon, into the evening, we were pushing for potential deals, and we tried our very best to make some more happen. But in the end we just couldn't do it.”

PK: MORGAN FOX WAS LEFT OUT OF TWO MATCHDAY SQUADS BEFORE THE DEADLINE, WHICH SUGGESTED HE MIGHT BE AVAILABLE FOR TRANSFER. HE DIDN'T END UP GOING, AND CAME STRAIGHT BACK INTO THE TEAM AGAINST MK DONS...WAS THERE AN EXPECTATION HE WOULD GO?

GC: "I think every single player at most football clubs is available during a transfer window. And then once the window closes, every single player is part of the plans and what that football club wants to do. I've always said that I will pick what I consider to be the best team for every single game, based on all of the factors surrounding it. Obviously, if there were things going on during the window, once it's shut, then the 'outside noise' is gone from the situation. Foxy came back into the team on Wednesday and was excellent. That being said, he started the season in the side and he was also excellent. I’m still finding solutions to certain problems we have at the club, and I am still looking for my best team. It's not like I can now say ‘I know exactly the best team’, and the best combinations. I'd be lying if I said that was the case. That will continue until I really start to get to know this group, and this group gets to know me. We're still searching for that right team, and the right combinations within the team, and that will go on for a number of weeks, I would think.”

PK: IT SEEMED LIKE STEPHEN HUMPHRYS AND LUCA WOODHOUSE WERE THE TWO PLAYERS THAT CAME CLOSEST TO COMING ON DEADLINE DAY...DO THEY STAY ON THE RADAR AS FAR AS JANUARY TARGETS ARE CONCERNED?

GC: "Players at other clubs will be players at other clubs until January, and we have to respect that. Look, I know Luca well, I signed him for Exeter, it's no secret he's a player I really like. He's done amazing since he's been at Exeter, and I know he'll do amazing for Exeter between now and January. When the window opens again, of course you start to look out there, and see what can be done. But I think to say he was a player we were looking at and didn't get...it’s unfair. It's unfair on the club he's at, and I wouldn't like other clubs to talk like that about any of my players. From now until January, what we need to do as a football club is be really clear about what our recruitment strategy is...what we have to spend in January, and how we approach January has to be in place I would say by probably November. Recruitment doesn't stop when the window shuts. For me, recruitment start when the window shuts. We have to be very active as far as that side of the football club is concerned so that, come January, we're very clear on who our targets are, and we can go and get them, and get them settled as quickly as possible.”

PK: THE JOE WHITWORTH DEAL SEEMED TO TAKE AN ETERNITY TO CONFIRM...WAS THERE AN ISSUE AT ANY TIME?

GC:"I think that was possibly something that people who haven't directly been involved in deals in football don't really understand...what goes into making them happen, especially financially. The rules these days...with SCMP (Salary Cost Management Protocol)...it means you have to make sure everything is right before you announce a signing. To try to give an insight to a supporter who maybe doesn't see a lot of this...a lot of boxes have to be ticked before we can announce a signing. Which is frustrating for me, for example, because I know it's happening, or it's happened. That's where supporters hear noise, and that's where you (the media) start to drop stuff through, and spread this noise among the supporters. On a general note, all I can ask is that the supporters be patient. We have been working so hard...we are desperate to get a team onto the park that they can be proud of, that they can come and support, that will be successful. But just be patient at times, because it's not always straightforward...and it's not necessarily the fault of anyone at this football club. It's not just a case of 'blame the owner', or someone else. We just need to make sure as a football club we are doing the right things, by the rules as much as anything else, and I think over the course of the window we have done that.”