Wigan Athletic ace on finding his feet...and eyeing the play-offs...

The former Manchester United striker opened his Latics account in his fourth outing, heading home a second-half equaliser against Plymouth last weekend.

And having quickly settled into life at the DW, after leaving Ipswch at the end of last term, Keane is desperate to show there’s plenty more where that came from.

“Obviously it’s nice to get off the mark, and get the first goal out of the way,” he told the Wigan Post.

“It helps with the confidence, and it came at a very important part of the game.

“We wanted to go on and win the game, and unfortunately we were unable to do that.

"But it gives us something to build on and we can take that into MK Dons on Tuesday.”

Not for the first time this season, Latics found their feet in the second half after a half-time dressing down from John Sheridan.

And Keane wants the players to be more proactive in terms of finding their form.

“We’ve spoken the last few weeks about playing with a bit more intent and purpose only after going a goal down,” he acknowledged.

“Obviously that’s frustrating, and we have to work out a way of doing that more consistently for the 90 minutes.

“It shouldn’t need us to go a goal down before we react and start playing with more aggression and playing forward more.

“We’re still making silly errors, which are costing us cheap goals. If we can eradicate those as well, we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”

It’s not like the squad can work on any issues on the training ground, given the hectic schedule that sees Latics travel down to Milton Keynes before returning to Wigan to host Northampton on Saturday.

“The schedule is crazy at the moment, there’s so many games to fit in, and it doesn’t really give you much time to prepare on the training field,” Keane said.

“It’s all about recovery days and trying to get your body right for the next game.

“I suppose when you’re having a bad run, it’s not a bad thing to have a game just around the corner, to try and put it right. And hopefully when we get that win on the board, it will build a bit of momentum and maybe kick us off on a little run.

“With MK Dons on Tuesday, Northampton on Saturday and Blackpool next Tuesday, we’ve a few teams who are also near the bottom.

“If you can pick up a couple of wins, you’re moving into mid-table, and then you’re starting to think about the play-offs.

“The lads are still confident, and we just need to get that first win and kick on.”

Keane is one of a number of new-boys at Wigan, with the squad having had a virtual total overhaul in recent months.

As the 27-year-old is well aware, the team may not start to show its full potential for a few weeks yet.

“It obviously takes time for things like that to develop,” he added.

“There’s been a lot of new faces coming into the squad at the same time, and it will take time to get that understanding going.

“Especially when there’s not much time to work on the training field, you’re kind of learning on the job, and getting that understanding on a matchday.

“I think we are showing signs of improvement on that score, and that will only get better over the next few weeks and months.”

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