'Get on with it' - Wigan Athletic chief's battle cry

Exactly 15 weeks after their last outing – a goalless draw with Luton at the DW – Latics travel to face another side in the relegation dogfight, Huddersfield.

Many still believe ‘Project Restart’ has come too soon, with the Covid-19 pandemic still responsible for hundreds of daily deaths.

But Cook says his players can afford to only think about one thing come 3pm on Saturday – and hopefully three precious points.

“It’s very much ‘get on with it’ now,” the Latics boss admitted.

“We’ve all had our opinions on what’s happened (with returning to action), negative comments and what not, but that’s all out the window.

“We’re off to Huddersfield, we’ve had the same amount of time to prepare, and been told what we can and can’t do.

“It’s now all about getting out there on the pitch and doing the best we can.”

The Latics squad has been back training for less than a month, but Cook says that will be no excuse for failing to hit the ground running.

“You could probably write a long list of things you’re not ready with,” he acknowledged.

“No-one’s had enough game-prep, match-time, whatever.

“But it’s the same for everyone, and we’re all in the starting blocks in the same position.

“Normally you’d have a six or seven-week programme, play six or seven games and introduce the lads slowly towards 90 minutes.

“This has been a bit crash-bang-wallop in comparison – but that’s just the way it is.

“There will be tired legs at Huddersfield, and you’ll see that all over the league because of the demands placed on the players.”