Wigan Athletic chief already plotting for next season - 'very reluctant'

Latics secured their League One safety at the weekend, after results elsewhere went their way on Saturday before they drew 0-0 at Port Vale on Sunday.

Rather than celebrating the 'achievement', Caldwell insisted work is already under way to propel the team to competing at the other end of the division in 2026/27.

"I've been very reluctant to look too far ahead, to look at the bigger picture, because we've had to win games and respect the difficulty of the situation we were in," he said.

"But now our position has been confirmed, our focus now switches to the bigger picture of next season, in particular recruitment, and making sure we are a much better team next year.

"Some of the work has already started on next season, in terms of recruitment, pre-season, and what the team needs to look like next year.

"This season has probably been a bit easier than I thought, because of the good players here, who have been brilliant in terms of how they've taken on new ideas, new information.

"Their attitude, their desire to win football matches...and we've had seven clean sheets since I've been back.

"It was clear what we had to do, but for them to go and carry it out, is another thing, and the players deserve all the credit for that."

Latics have two games left - Saturday's visit of AFC Wimbledon followed by a season-ending trip down to Stevenage - with a top-half finish still very attainable.

"We set the players a target of nine points from the last five games, and we have nine from the first three games, with two to go," Caldwell said.

"The first goal will be to reach that nine-point total, but with Saturday being our last home game, you obviously want to finish your home campaign on a high.

"Both Wimbledon and Stevenage will have something to fight for, and we know we have to turn up and be ready for both of those games, to ensure we finish as high as we can and set our sights for next season."