Joining Wigan Athletic was ‘a no-brainer’, says Danny Fox

And the 32-year-old defender - who has joined from Nottingham Forest for a fee in the region of £300,000 - can’t wait to get cracking at the DW Stadium.

“There has been changes at Nottingham Forest recently and this move came up and ticked all the boxes for me personally,” Fox revealed.

“It ‘s been on the cards for a few weeks now, with the clubs working together to get a deal done.

“I’m only hearing good things about the manager and his staff here.

“And knowing we have got some really talented players here as well made it a no-brainer for me to get the deal done.

“I know some of the players from either playing with them or against them over the years and, from what I have seen, it is a great group of lads.”

Fox, who is understood to have signed an initial 18-month contract with an option for an extra year, was omitted from the Forest squad for last weekend’s 3-1 win over Latics while the deal was finalised.

But he is determined to hit the ground running with his new club, and aims to make a difference on and off the field.

“I will bring a little bit of experience from playing in this league for quite a long time and I have played at big clubs like Nottingham Forest and Celtic,” he added.

“So I think I will bring experience to the dressing room; we have a few young lads who probably need a bit of guidance and older pros like myself can help with that in the dressing room.”

Latics boss Paul Cook was understandably delighted to complete his second signing of the transfer window, having landed forward Anthony Pilkington from Cardiff three weeks ago.

“Danny has great experience in the Premier League and Championship and is a great addition to our squad,” enthused the Latics chief.

“Great credit to Danny for joining us after captaining Nottingham Forest in their promotion push in the Championship.

“I think our supporters would appreciate that leadership and experience amongst our very young back five has been something we have been searching for, and we are delighted to have found it in Danny.”

Fox, who came through the ranks at Everton, has made more than 450 career appearances, and has played in both the Premier League and Champions League.