The car incident driving Shaun Maloney ahead of Wigan Athletic's return to Bristol Rovers - 'I'll never forget it'

Not for any desire of avenge for the 4-1 drubbing, and one of the lowest points of the whole campaign.

But to remind him of 'what's acceptable and what's not' - something which continues to drive him as he leads the Latics rebuild into its second season.

"It's not so much something you want to put right, but it definitely stays with you," he said. "The Bristol game is still very clear in my mind about what's acceptable and what's not.

"But then again so does Blackpool in the Championship...there's certain games where you see parts of your team that you don't want to see again...that sticks with you.

"Even Reading away the other week, seeing the fans at the end, I still reflect on it in terms of that performance. So it's not about putting things right specifically at a certain ground, but more in the manner we performed.

"I don't want to go into it too deeply, but in terms of the town here and its values...I'm not from here, but I've spent a lot of time here. It's a working class town, so the minimum the fans expect to see from their team is a certain effort.

"I also know it's not a particularly affluent town, and it's not cheap to come and watch us. It doesn't matter who you're playing or in which competition...if someone has paid to come and watch us, someone who's worked hard for that money, who maybe brings their children...the minimum we can give it 100 per cent.

"If you make a mistake, or have bad luck, that's different...but you can always control the effort. And that's a big part of the DNA I'm trying to bring back."

Maloney's affinity with a fanbase that once adored him as a player is clear - particularly when he opens up on a moment on the long drive back to Reading last month that 'really got to me'.

He added: "After we'd been beaten at Reading, I was so crestfallen on the bus, the performance off the ball was really bad. I don't know who it was, but we were overtaken by a car full of Wigan fans on the way home.

"The support I got from that car…I have absolutely no idea who they are, but it was amazing...I will never forget that. They were beating their chest, the badge on their shirt, telling me how much they loved me and the club.

"I could see how unhappy the fans were when we went over after the game, but seeing that car...it was incredible. It meant so much to me, and put everything back into perspective for me.

"Obviously we want to win every game, but what the club and the fans have been through...that meant a lot. And even though we were beaten at Birmingham, going over to them at the end...they were singing my name, Sam Tickle's name...it was special.

"There's not too many clubs where you can lose a game and still applauded off the pitch by the supporters, and that's what makes us want to do everything we can to become a winning team."