Liam Shaw opens up on rising above the 'pressure' to stake Wigan Athletic claim

Making his first appearance of the campaign, the on-loan Celtic midfielder was outstanding in the EFL Trophy romp against Leicester City Under-21s.

After a disrupted pre-season, the 22-year-old signalled his intention to make up for lost time, and sent out a real message to boss Shaun Maloney ahead of this weekend's trip to Bristol Rovers.

"Football's all about opportunities and, when they come along, you've got to grab them with both hands," he said.

"There was added pressure on me, but I feel like I play well under pressure, and that helped me to rise to the occasion.

"Any new player wants to make a good impression as quickly as possible, and I wasn't able to do that.

"But hopefully I showed the fans what I can do, and also the manager."

By the player's own admission, it's been a hugely frustrating two months since Shaw put pen to paper at the DW.

"I didn't really have a pre-season, and it has been tough to get up to the level of the other players," he said.

"But just being back out there, there's nothing like it.

"Obviously when you're not playing, it can be tough, but it was nice to be able to show people what I can do.

"Any player wants to play as many games as they can, and I'm no different.

"All I could do was show a good attitude, take each day as it comes, do my best, and work towards where I wanted to get to.

"Hopefully I showed a bit of what I can do in midweek, and I've done enough to force my way into the squad for good.

"Whenever you get the opportunity to play, or train, it's an opportunity to send a message to the manager.

"We've got a great set of players here, the competition for places is massive, and that helps to keep the standards up."

Having played in League One last season during a loan spell at Morecambe, Shaw knows exactly what lies ahead.

"It's a very tough league, and this will be a very long season," he added.

"There's always going to injuries, suspensions, losses of form, whatever, and every player has to make sure they're ready to play when the manager needs them."