Kolo's contacts coming up trumps for Wigan Athletic

First through the door was former Tottenham, Liverpool and England defender Steven Caulker, who's back in the UK after four years in Turkey.

A former colleague of Kolo Toure's at Anfield, the 31-year-old is exactly the kind of recruitment Latics will be seeking this month.

Something of a gamble...but with the potential positives far outweighing the negatives.

It's also an early indication of how important Toure's contacts will be in bolstering the squad for the second half of the campaign.

Also on the way are highly-rated Arsenal Academy midfielder Miguel Azeez, 20, and former Ivory Coast junior international Christ Tiehi, 24.

The pull of working with Ivorian Toure - who is regarded as a legend in his country after winning 120 caps - is obvious.

Azeez will also have been attracted to the DW by the presence of his old Arsenal Academy coach Kevin Betsy, who is now Toure's No.2.

Chairman Talal Al Hammad promised the fans there would be signings this month, after apologising for the wretched recent run of results.

He repeated his mantra - 'actions speak louder than words' - and it's very encouraging to see Toure being backed so decisively in the market.

Latics also made a big statement on the field at Luton at the weekend.

In the grand scheme of things, the result was always going to be secondary.

This season will live or die not with FA Cup progress, but whether Latics hold on to their Championship status.

In many ways, that would probably be aided by a lack of extra cup games - including next week's replay against Luton at the DW.

But it was more - so much more - than just a positive result at Kenilworth Road.

It was all about the performance, the response, the character shown from Latics when they needed it most.

On the back of four defeats on the spin - the last three by 4-1 - and having fallen to the foot of the Championship, the mood among the fanbase was understandably doom and gloom.

But right from the off, Latics showed what they're made of, and bossed the opening 45 minutes.

Conceding a sloppy goal on the stroke of half-time was a reminder of the work that still needs to be done.

But the way the side dug in after the break as Luton threw everything at them said everything about the fight that's still in the dressing room.

As the last 15 minutes approached, minds will perhaps have wandered to the games against Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Hull, when capitulation had occurred.

This time, though, it was Latics who came on strong and, on another day, might easily have forced what would have been a deserved late winner.

Baby steps, of course.

But something tangible Toure can take with him to Saturday's crunch clash at fellow strugglers Cardiff.

With one or two more additions hopefully on the way, all of a sudden the glass is very much half full again.

Indeed, if Latics can succeed in bringing Joe Gelhardt back from Leeds, it could be time to dream again for everyone at the DW.