'Kicking on' target for Wigan Athletic rock

The squad has been over in Spain this week in preparation for the pre-season programme which begins next Tuesday at Bamber Bridge.

And Kerr, who enjoyed a fairytale maiden campaign at Wigan after joining last summer from St Johnstone, can't wait to pick up where Latics left off at the end of last term.

“We’ve taken a step up into the Championship this year, and we all know how hard it’s going to be with a lot of good, quality sides in there," he said.

“We need to kick on again now and progress from what we did last season.

"It’s a new test for a lot of us, and the lads who have played in the Championship have told us how tough it is, so if we put in the work, we’ll do well.”

The 25-year-old is aiming to hit the ground running this term, after having to play catch up 12 months ago when he arrived nursing an injury.

This time round everyone is flying, and the big centre-back has been relishing getting stuck into the work under the baking sunshine.

“Pre-season isn’t supposed to be easy and, although it’s nice to be in Spain with the sunny weather, it’s meant to be hard and test you, and it’s certainly done that," said the former Scotland Under-21 international.

“You need to put in the hard work and miles now, so you’ll be fit and ready for the upcoming season.

“We’ve done a few sessions and it’s good to see how fit everyone is.

“People in the off-season keep themselves fit, so it’s just topping that up when you get back, and it’s good to see.

“We’ve had a long break, I think almost eight weeks, but it feels like it was a couple of days ago since we were at Shrewsbury and winning the league.

“With the success we’ve had, we’re hungry for more and we want to progress and see what we can do this season.”