Life's certainly not a pitch for Shaun Maloney as Wigan Athletic playing surface dazzles

Latics returned to home soil for the first time in almost three months last weekend for the visit of Blackburn Rovers.

The pitch looked in utterly resplendent condition - as remarked by the Sky TV the night before, when Wigan Warriors hosted Warrington Wolves.

And given all of the hard work done over the last 12 months to make up for the fact there was no annual maintenance last summer, Maloney feels groundsman Ian Forshaw and his staff deserve a huge pat on the back.

"The pitch is amazing, the groundsman and his team have done a brilliant job," said the Latics boss. "It's very busy at the moment, with the rugby games and also training going on.

"But Ian's doing a great job, and he remains a positive light at all times!

"He was here when I was a player (Forshaw was on the ground staff during the Premier League years, before leaving and then returning), so I've known him for a long, long time.

"Ian is brilliant at his job, a really good man, and I very rarely tell him to his face.

"But he's been at this club during the really good times, the really difficult times, and whatever we can do to support him and his team, we will definitely do.

"Considering what he did last year, with little or no budget...what he managed to produce both at the stadium and the training ground, was excellent.

"You can see with even a little bit of investment what he can do, and I'll be putting the pressure on him to make sure it's looking just as good from November until March!"

The work over recent months has come thanks to ‘significant’ investment from the new ownership group.

Extensive work is also being undertaken at the club’s Christopher Park training ground in Standish Lower Ground, and at Edge Hall Road, the former home of Orrell Rugby Union, which is the new home for both the Latics and Warriors’ women’s teams.