Off-contract Jason Kerr discusses his Wigan Athletic future as defender looks ahead to 300th appearance

Kerr made a return to the squad following an extended period of time sidelined in January’s defeat at Doncaster Rovers in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

A torn ACL sustained in November 2022, followed by a freak foot fracture in training before Christmas last year sidelined the 27-year-old for a total of 438 days.

But now that he is back playing regular minutes, the central defender is determined to prove his worth and earn a new Latics deal before his contract expires this summer.

He said: “I’m not long back, I’ve only played a few games recently, so it makes sense that there’s not really been a conversation about that yet, they just want me to play as many games as possible.

“Hopefully I can keep putting in good performances and maybe we can have that conversation later down the line.

“There’s obviously a good project going on here and the way the gaffer wants to play is something I want to be on board with so yeah, I definitely want to stay.”

Wigan Athletic, who are currently 13th in League One, welcome 21st-placed Cheltenham Town to the DW Stadium on Friday night.

As the visitors are just eight points behind Shaun Maloney’s side with two games in hand, it could prove to be a crucial match in the relegation battle.

And should Kerr be named in the squad, it could mark his 300th career appearance, a huge milestone for the Scotsman.

“It’s a special moment, obviously if I wasn’t injured, I would have had it already but it’s a good career point to get that 300th, so if I’m selected it’ll be a good day for me,” Kerr added.

“Obviously, after the injury you just think you’ll never get back from it, but it’ll be a really good personal moment for me getting that 300th game and hopefully I can make it more, make it 400 or 500 in the future.”