Wigan Athletic chief on 'not particularly tough' decision to give James Carragher his chance

And the Latics boss couldn't be happier about the situation!

Carragher was drafted into the backline in place of Will Aimson as Maloney looked for a reaction to the midweek defeat to struggling Burton Albion.

And the 22-year-old Academy product could not have justified his inclusion any more emphatically, heading Latics in front inside six minutes, and then ensuring the visitors were shut out as Latics won 2-0.

Carragher had stepped in with equal effectiveness in the victory at Stevenage the previous weekend, when skipper Jason Ker was unavailable for family reasons.

Maloney had acknowledged the Liverpudlian was unfortunate to drop out for the Burton game, and says he had no qualms in pitching him in against the Pirates.

"It wasn't a particularly tough decision to play Carra in there," said the Latics chief. "Carragher - and Luke Robinson - definitely deserved to play after their performances at Stevenage.

"I think with Will and Jason...it's a case of which combination looks the best...Will has proved to be a brilliant signing, and Jason has been the same.

"With Jason and Will, they've been such a good partnership for a while...but they also need to feel the heat of a young guy that wants to get their shirt and keep it.

"I'm really happy with all of them, but Carra in particular...I didn't realise it was his first professional goal, and he's worked really hard for that."

Maloney also revealed the thinking between Carragher playing right centre-back, with Kerr switching from his usual berth to play on the left-hand side, with Robinson at left-back and Toby Sibbick at right-back.

"That was partly to do with the profile of the back four," said Maloney. "You had Robbo on the left-hand side, and I probably wanted someone more senior next to him.

"Carra had Kerr and Sibbick either side of him, so that meant we had the balance right. That took a lot of thought over the last 24 hours...we had to put a lot of thought into that four."

A feature of Carragher's appearances in the side has been his organisational skills, similar to those shown by his dad, Jamie, for Liverpool two decades ago.

Despite his tender years – and being surrounded by far more experienced team-mates, Carragher has already established himself as a leader of the team, and Maloney says that has not come as a surprise.

"His personality...yeah, he's got a bit," recognised Maloney. "Carra's a really nice guy, who works extremely hard, very humble, very grounded. But absolutely, when you put him on the football pitch, he's a real competitor and a born communicator.

"He's really loud, and I really like that about him...he definitely has leadership qualities, even for such a young guy. He has a fight on his hands to stay in the team, but he did himself no harm with the way he played today."