Latics guest player column - Jamie Walker

It’s early days but I know I’ve made the right decision for me and my family.

There was interest from other clubs, and obviously Rangers are a big club.

But I wanted to challenge myself down here.

And once I spoke to the gaffer here, my mind was made up.

You look at the Scottish lads who have come here and done well – like James McCarthy and James McArthur – and I want the same.

I know I have to get my head down and work hard, but I’m confident I can do well here.

As a new player I don’t expect to be given anything for free.

I’ve got to earn the respect of my new team-mates, and hopefully I can do that by scoring and creating a few goals.

I came to watch the Charlton game over Christmas, and I think League One is maybe pretty similar to the SPL.

Obviously if you move up to the Championship you’ve got big clubs with big money, like Derby and Aston Villa, and it’s a step up.

But that’s got to be the aim – to go up and then try to compete with clubs like that.

Obviously in Scotland most people when they think of Wigan they talk about the FA Cup, and also the Premier League.

We’re in League One at the moment, but they’re doing well, and hopefully will be in the Championship in the summer.

Obviously I’ve also got ambitions of breaking into the Scotland squad, but I try not to think about that.

I’ve played for Scotland at every level through to Under-21s, so it is the next step, and it would be nice.

Hopefully if I’m scoring goals and playing well then I might put myself in contention.

I have to say my dad was a bit gutted when I left Hearts because he’s got a season ticket up there!

I don’t even get him free tickets, he pays for it himself!

But when he thought about it, and what it could mean for my career, he wanted me to come down.

He’ll never give up his season ticket, but hopefully he’ll come down and watch me play when he gets the chance.

Family means everything to me in general – everything I do is for my girlfriend and my little boy.

It might be unusual in this day and age, but I still keep a scrapbook.

When you get to 34, 35 years of age, it’ll be good to look back on and see what I did.

Obviously I’ll pass it on to my son, and he can maybe pass it on to his son, to show them what his dad achieved.

* Jamie Walker was speaking to Paul Kendrick