Shrewsbury Town boss predicts Wigan Athletic star is 'definitely destined for big things'

Ainsworth, who has only been in the job for a month, brings his rock-bottom Shrews north looking to close the gap to safety, which currently stands at a whopping TEN points.

And he knows they'll have their work cut out against Shaun Maloney's side, who will be full of confidence and belief after last week's derby victory at Bolton.

"Listen, Wigan are a decent side....they're very good on the break especially," said Ainsworth. "We've got to make sure we're solid, and we've got to make sure we go into that game believing we can keep them at bay, because we do score goals, we do make chances.

"Obviously we're away from home, and it's always tough going there, but we've got to start picking up some points. I just want to see some solid performances.,..I'd almost take a 0-0, because a clean sheet would be a massive step forward in terms of our defensive standards.

"But we'll go into this game thinking we can win it, as we always do while I'm sitting here. The same as we managed to do against Birmingham in my first game here, I firmly believe we can beat Wigan.

"It's the start of a busy Christmas period, and we want to pick up as many points as we can. The period over Christmas, New Year, and then to May...it just goes really quickly.

"We need to make sure we stay in and amongst it, and have a glimmer we can catch the teams that are fifth-from-bottom and above...and I'm certain we can."

While most of the Latics plaudits this season have gone to Sam Tickle – who boasts the second best defensive record in League One – Ainsworth points to a figure at the other end of the field as the biggest potential problem for the Shrews.

"(Thelo) Aasgaard is a player of immense quality,” added Ainsworth. "Everyone can see that, his name's been knocking about with links to some big teams...he's definitely destined for big things in football.”