'Show you've got a bit about you' - Wigan Athletic chief's call to players ahead of Sheffield Wednesday trip
Gary Caldwell has called on his Wigan Athletic players to 'show you've got a bit about you' as they travel to League One leaders Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.
It's top against bottom at Hillsborough, with Latics bidding to bounce back from their 4-0 home setback to Stockport County last time out.
That result immediately eradicated the feel-good factor generated by the victory over MK Dons three days earlier, but Caldwell is anxious not to read too much into either result.
"Rome wasn't built in a day, it takes time," he said. "If you look at any successful football club...the top club in the country right now is Arsenal.
"And they have taken a number of years - and a lot of lows along the way - to get to where they are now.
"Sometimes when you see success, it's very easy to forget the difficulties and the lows you have to experience.
"We are at the very beginning of our journey, we are very much a work in progress.
"We had a magnificent performance and result on the Wednesday, and we find out very quickly on the Saturday that that is what football does.
"I've got a picture in my office of that magnificent day we had at Wembley in 2013, alongside a picture three days later of us getting relegated, to remind me that highs and lows are always only just around the corner.
"That keeps me grounded in the good times, and remind me during the difficult moments that we will get through them and we will get better."
The Owls have recovered from a couple of difficult years to set the early pace, with 12 points on the board from five matches played.
"It's a challenge that should appeal to us and one that we should look forward to," insisted Caldwell.
"Hillsbrough is a very difficult place to go. I would call it a real traditional stadium. It's always full and full of energy.
"But if you can go there and win, it shows what your team is all about, and that you've got a bit about you."
One man who will need no introduction to the Hillsborough atmosphere is Morgan Fox, who made more than a century of appearances for Wednesday between 2017-20.
"It's a place I'm really looking forward to going back to," he said. "I know it's going to be full, it's going to be bouncing, and I can't wait to get there.
"Playing at places like that are why you want to be a footballer, and I'll be relaying that message that to the lads in the dressing room.
"The Stockport game is done, let's all move on. We know there’ll be pressure on us, but I've always said that pressure is a privilege, because it means you're doing something right.
"The rewards are the same, if you come out on top, and we need to be at it for what will be another big game."
Ex-Latics forward Jamal Lowe has scored four goals in five matches this season for Wednesday, one behind the league’s top scorer, fellow former Tic Joe Taylor of Huddersfield Town.