James Carragher on Wigan Athletic captaincy 'pride' - and whetting his appetite for next season!

The 22-year-old - who has been captain in the Under-18s and Under-21 ranks - stepped up in midweek at Burton when regular skipper Jason Kerr dropped to the bench.

Having nailed down a regular spot in the Latics team, scored his first senior goal AND won his maiden international call-up for Malta, it's been a whirlwind campaign for young Carragher.

"It was absolutely brilliant, and something I really didn't know was coming before the game, so it was a bit of a shock," said Carragher. "A few of the senior lads came over to me to offer some advice, but it didn't really change anything about me, I just played my normal game...after the first couple of minutes you forget it's even on your arm.

"But it was all good, and I'm just made up that we ended up getting a positive result, to keep the unbeaten run going, because it wouldn't have been quite as special had we got beat.

"It's something I'll remember for a long time, and it obviously means a lot that a new manager has come in and recognised I'm the kind of character who might be suited to being captain. It's something I really pride myself on, being a talker and an organiser and a leader, and capped a fantastic season for me."

Having spent part of last season on loan in Scotland at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Carragher's progress over the last 12 months has been little short of meteoric.

"On the back of my loan spell last season, I just wanted to try to be in and around the first team squad," he said. "I wasn't even thinking about doing as well as I have done...I just didn't want to get sent out on loan again, so I knuckled down last summer.

"If someone had told me I would have achieved all this, I'd have probably laughed at them. I just want to end the season as well as I can - and the team can on Saturday, have some time off and come back raring to go for next season."