‘Tics need ‘right ones – not those for pay day’

With the new season being incredibly less than nine weeks away, Latics still have only six senior players under contract.

Jones is one of nine members of last season’s survival squad mulling over offers of new deals, with boss Leam Richardson understandably keen to discover as quickly as possible how many will be staying on.

But the man who skippered the side through its most difficult ever campaign is remaining pragmatic about the situation – for the time being at least.

“We know we’re a good year behind the rest of the division in terms of recruitment,” he told the Wigan Post. “But I know Leam, and Mal, and the recruitment team are not going to rush in just to fill the squad.

“They’re going to take their time, make sure they get the right people in, and you have to respect that.

“Those of us who’ve been here for a while know how good a club it is.

“Hopefully those who haven’t can also see the potential here, and want to sign for the right reasons.

“Maybe some players will see the club being taken over and think of it as possibly a nice little pay day. But that’s not the way it’s going to be, and I know Leam won’t allow that to be the case.”