New-boy aiming for immediate Wigan Athletic impression

The 25-year-old joined Latics minutes before the transfer deadline last Friday, too late to feature against Charlton at the weekend.

But the midfielder – who is on loan from Swindon until January 4 – trained with his new team-mates at Christopher Park yesterday, and declared himself ‘good to go’.

Despite only having two EFL Trophy appearances to his name this term, Palmer says he won’t be found wanting in the fitness department.

“I feel my fitness is good and I’m good to go,” he told the Wigan Post.

“Any footballer will tell you they’d rather be playing football than training, so it’s a good thing there’s so many matches.

“It’s a relentless schedule, but it’s also chance to build up a bit of momentum.

“You win a couple of games in the space of a few days, and it suddenly pushes you up the league table.

“We’re playing Saturday-Tuesday for the next four or five weeks, and if we can put a few results together the table will look a lot different.”

Boss John Sheridan was desperate to bring in Palmer, having worked with him during a previous loan spell at Oldham.

And Palmer – who came through the ranks at Derby before beginning his pro career at Burton – is confident he can add to the group on and off the field as the new-look Latics find their feet back in League One.

“This is obviously a very new team, with some young players in it,” he acknowledged.

“But from what I’ve seen there’s a lot of quality here and hopefully I can add to that.

“I’ve played a lot of games for my age, and if I can add a bit of experience then that will help.

“Having played two seasons in the Championship I feel I can bring something to the group that can help us.

“I like to get on the ball, put my foot on it and try to dictate play.

“Further forward, hopefully I can chip in with some goals and assists, which is always nice.”

And far from being daunted about facing fourth-placed Peterborough tonight before sixth-placed Plymouth visit on Saturday, Palmer can’t wait to get cracking.

“These are the games you want to be involved in, against the sides near the top,” he added.

“We’re facing two good teams this week, but we believe we’re a good side as well, and we’ve got to put our stamp on the games and try to get some points.

“I’ve obviously played here a few times before with Burton, and it’s a good stadium, nice pitch, and I’m looking forward to playing here.

“Hopefully we can get a couple of positive results in the next few days and get some points under our belt.”