'Next season starts here' - Wigan Athletic boss outlines blueprint for success

The Latics squad - noticeably lower in numbers than last season, due to so many departures - was back at Christopher Park on Monday to begin their preparations for 2026/27.

And Caldwell was quick to emphasise the importance of 'building behaviours' - both on and off the field - as he plots the rebuild.

"I showed the players a brief presentation on day one, and that's what it said: 'The season starts here'," he said.

"We have to build behaviours...we have a saying 'never get bored of the basics'...because we are going to start from the very beginning with building a foundation.

"Physically, technically, tactically, psychologically, socially...this group is going to have to come together in so many different ways.

"We have to build that through basic behaviours as the platform for us to become a really successful football team."

While the beginning of pre-season is notoriously unpopular with players following several weeks of recharging batteries, Caldwell - now with his manager's hat on - has switched camps!

"It's great to be back," he added. "The worst part of the season for me is the off-season....I hate the not being with the players and the staff every day.

"I'm obviously speaking to them on the phone, but I miss that connection and that day-to-day interaction that we'll have between now and next May.

"We managed to get a lot of work done during the time off, there were a lot of Zoom meetings and so on, but it's not the same.

"It's the least enjoyable part of the season for me, and so I'm very happy to be back with the players and the staff, and starting to build those connections again."

Caldwell stopped short of setting a target for next season - understandably so, given so much of his recruitment has yet to come to fruition.

But he revealed the somewhat blank canvas at the moment has extended to the walls of their training hub.

"We've actually stripped the training ground right back," he said. "We've put nothing on the walls...no words, no slogans...because for me we are building something new.

"And that's not just me dictating to the players. That is as and when we build the squad and it comes together, this group has to come together and create its own identity.

"What that identity is, I don't know yet, because the full squad isn't together yet. What I do know is the people of Wigan want to see a hard-working, industrious, attacking, aggressive football team.

"That's what we're trying to build, but that will take time with so many different parts coming on over the summer.

"But we have to show the supporters - and it was the same when I first arrived in February - that we can be a competitive team, and a team that can win games at this level, and hopefully they will get behind us to help us on that path."