Leam Richardson responds to Wigan Athletic late wages situation

Speaking for the first time about the situation - which CEO Mal Brannigan addressed at the weekend, where he apologised for 'an issue beyond our control' – acknowledged it was ‘obviously a situation you don't want to be in’.

However, Richardson says it will not have a destabilising effect on the squad on the eve of the new campaign.

"You've got to be professional about things like that," he said.

"Mal addressed everyone quite quickly, quite swiftly, and brought the information out.

"It was an open forum for people to ask questions, and obviously that was important because people will remember what happened two years ago.

"It certainly resonated with me, I had the same feeling, watching people.

"But it was addressed quite quickly, and by the afternoon, everyone had been paid.

"It's obviously a situation you don't want to be talking about, it's obviously a situation you don't want to be in.

"But we've been assured it was only a minor mistake, so to speak, and it won't be a regular occurrence."

Brannigan informed players and staff last Friday that their June salaries would not be paid until Monday due to a technical issue processing the payments from the club’s parent company, before hitting the club’s account.

The previous month’s pay had been delayed by a similar, but unrelated, issue around the Jubilee weekend.

“We are really sorry that the staff did not receive their salaries as scheduled on Friday,” he said.

“Due to an issue beyond our control, I informed staff on Friday that their pay would not hit their accounts until Monday, despite a full day of trying to resolve the issue.

“I am really mindful of this club’s recent past, so we felt it was important we addressed the issue publicly to avoid unnecessary speculation and alarm.

“The payments processes have been changed, so this will not occur again.

"The club has offered to assist any staff who have suffered immediate hardship as a result of the delay.

The financial health of the club is strong and stable.”