Wigan Athletic CEO reveals January transfer hint

The mid-season window is about to open, with Latics seemingly in need of reinforcements across all areas.

New boss Toure revealed last week he was not going to waste a moment worrying about what might happen next month, with big games still to be played before then.

But Brannigan says there's already been an acknowledgement that new blood will be needed to give Toure the best possible chance of guiding Latics out of the drop zone.

"There were conversations that took place during the interview process, whether there would be an availability of funds, or a possibility of doing something with the squad," said the Latics CEO.

"I think you have to give any new manager the opportunity to kind of say: 'What do we need?'

"You need to assess the squad first, but obviously we don't have a great deal of time to do that before January will be here.

"At the same time, he'll know fairly quickly where the potential gaps are, and what we need to do to fill those.

"Whether that will be loans, or something a little bit more permanent, it all depends on what happens with recruitment and what happens with the assessment that the coaching staff will make in the next couple of weeks."

Leam Richardson was able to bring in only five players - Ryan Nyambe, Nathan Broadhead, Ashley Fletcher, Rarmaini Edmonds-Green and Anthony Scully - last summer.

Toure also has to decide whether Stephen Humprhrys, Jamie McGrath and Jordan Jones - who have spent the first half of the campaign on loan in Scotland - are part of his plans moving forward.

"To be honest, at the moment, I'm only focusing on the team I have right now," he said earlier this month.

"I have only been here for a short time, I need to assess the players I have here before I think about anything else.

"I need to see who can bring what, who can help us to win games, and for me that's the only thing that matters right now."