Wigan Athletic boss on 'difficult' Jordan Jones situation - and why the Charlie Hughes money didn't help

The Northern Ireland winger was released at the end of last season after Latics were unable to come up with an attractive enough package for his representatives.

However, after failing to find a new club, Jones penned a short-term deal on the eve of the season that saw him featuring in the opening three matches.

Late last week, Latics confirmed Jones had departed by mutual consent, after agreeing terms with Gary Caldwel's Exeter City, which meant a rethink for Maloney ahead of the visit of Crawley.

"I didn't expect Jordan to leave so soon," he said. "I expected him to be involved on Saturday, I spoke in the media in the week about him being in my plans.

"But Jordan came to me on Thursday and told me he'd had offers from clubs in League One and League Two. At that point, we were unable to offer him anything further.

"I met with him, his wife and his two kids, and he had to make a decision at that point. We agreed to let him go, because we know he has to provide for his family.

"We would have loved to have kept him for this game but, after what he's given me since I've been here, I had to give him the opportunity to sign somewhere else, because we couldn't offer him anything."

Maloney was then asked whether the recent sale of Charlie Hughes might have given him more flexibility in terms of what the club could offer Jones.

"It's a very difficult situation, because I was desperate to keep him at the end of last season, we offered him a new contract," he said.

"Obviously our budget has been cut drastically, and I couldn't offer him what he was on last year.

"That's really hard, because he was one of our outstanding players, and I get it from a player's point of view...that's really hard to take. You've had a brilliant season, and you're offered less than what you were on.

"I was so surprised he didn't get an offer from a club at a higher level, or one of the best clubs in our league. But we just don't have the budget to be able to think about keeping him.

"Even with Charlie Hughes going, the budget is quite specific in terms of positions, and we've spent that budget. I would have loved to have kept Jordan, but we just couldn't do it."

Latics brought in three wingers during the off-season, with two of them - Silko Thomas and Dion Rankine - impressing against Crawley.

"I was really happy with Silko, and I think he can get even better," added Maloney. "His effort was really good, and he can definitely show moments in a game.

"I know he's going to be a really good player, an absolutely brilliant player.

"This is his first loan, he's never played senior football before, and I think he's adapted pretty quickly - and I think he'll get loads better.

"When we brought him off, we missed his attacking threat, and the more minutes we get out of him the better."