How Stephen Humphrys has 'found a home' at Wigan Athletic

Humphrys' equaliser at Leyton Orient was his eighth goal of the campaign - only four short of his career-best total of 12 scored for Rochdale in 2020-21.

The 26-year-old – whose clubs have included Fulham, Shrewsbury, Scunthorpe, Southend, Rochdale and a loan spell at Hearts – would already be in double figures had he not missed penalties in each of his last two league outings.

Maloney, though, says Humphrys' mentality in bouncing back from Saturday's miss to rifle home Latics' leveller speaks volumes for his character.

"Stephen showed his mentality in wanting to take the penalty again after missing one, and I had no problem with that," said the Latics boss.

"He's in very, very good form and, in his way, from his position, he is really leading the team.

"It was an outstanding goal, he is a really talented boy, and I think there's still loads more to come from him.

"His technique is fantastic, he's good off both feet, when you hit the post, the margins are very small.

"Sometimes when the goalkeeper moves in that direction, it can have an effect on how accurate you're trying to be.

"But if I knew the answer to that, I'd have solved many problems over the years."

Maloney says he will continue to allow the players to decide who takes the penalties.

"The players make the decision, and it's about who feels most comfortable at that time," he said.

"Straight after he missed the penalty at Cheltenham, he took another one in the shoot-out at Tranmere (in the EFL Trophy) and scored, so I had no problem with it.

"Charlie (Hughes) and Thelo (Aasgaard) missed in the shoot-out against Wrexham (in the EFL Cup), and then scored against Fleetwood, so it's a character as well as a confidence thing.

"Penalties can be scored and missed by the best players that I've worked with, I have no problem with it. These things can happen.

"But what I loved more than anything was the mentality he showed to score the goal he did, which was incredible.

"The challenge for him is to get more goals, especially inside that six-yard box.

"It certainly feels like he's found a home here, with staff around him who understand the person he is, and long may that continue."

Humphrys - who tweeted after the game that he would be handing over penalty duties - is relishing his new 'free' role in the front three.

"We're giving Stephen a certain amount of freedom within the structure we're using at the moment," added Maloney.

"But he's got the attributes to be able to play anywhere across that frontline.

"Early in the season, he was playing as a really wide right winger, although our structure has changed since then.

"He now has more freedom and, as long as he gives me what I need out of possession, he can find space wherever that may be."