Paul Cook reveals what mark he would give Wigan Athletic for the first half of the Championship season

Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat to Birmingham marked the halfway point in the season – they have since lost to West Brom – with Latics having accrued 25 points.

After an impressive start, which saw Latics third at the end of September, injuries have bitten which has seen them slide down the table.

“We started off really well, but we’ve been on a run for a period of time now where it hasn’t been quite as good,” Cook said.

“If we had another three, four, five points – which I would argue we’ve deserved the league table would look – fantastic for us. And that is our target.

“But the season is a 46-game challenge and you’ll finish where you deserve to at the end. We said that all last season, and that’s the way it turned out.

“Apart from Brentford away, when they gave is the runaround, we’ve been competitive in every single game.

“We’ve looked very comfortable on the pitch facing the rest of this division.”

When pressed for a grade at the halfway mark, Cook replied: “Out of 10? That’s a hard one! We started off so well, some of the football was so free-flowing, excellent...

“It’s tapered off a little bit since then, I’d give us an average mark if I’m honest.

“Considering this club has been relegated in each of its last two seasons at this level, and spent most of the time in the bottom three, this is progress.

“We’ve built a platform, and we’ve given ourselves a chance of building a tally that can give us a chance of achieving what we set out to do.”

Cook has already confirmed Latics will be active in the January transfer market to bolster his stretched squad, the first since the takeover of the club by IEC went through.