Wigan Athletic chief outlines January transfer plans - 'Let's not wait'

But the Latics boss has revealed work is already well underway to bolster the squad in January - with quickfire business the order of the day.

Maloney endured a frustrating summer window, having expressed a desire for 90 per cent of his squad to be in place for the first day of pre-season.

For a number of reasons, that didn't transpire, meaning players joining the club later than hoped - after the campaign had started - and playing catch-up in terms of fitness and taking on board Maloney's ideas.

It's a situation the Scot is desperate to avoid during the next window of opportunity.

When asked whether he's started preparing for January movement, Maloney replied: "Definitely, we need to prepare for all eventualities in all positions.

"The work on that has already started, Stevie (Gormal, head of recruitment) was back on it pretty much the week after the window shut.

"I really like the squad, but any work I want done, the ambition will be to get it done on the first day of January. Let's not wait until the last week of the window again.

"I think there's seven games during January, so if we're going to do any work, let's get it done as quickly as we can. And each window, we have to keep pushing for that...whether it's the first day of pre-season, or the first day of January."

When asked whether he was tempted to delve into the free agent market in the meantime, Maloney added: "No, I'm happy with the squad we have until January.

"Although we are slightly under the budget, there's not really any room to bring in anyone else, but I'm happy with the players we've got here."

Maloney was thwarted in his attempts to land a senior striker in the closing days of the summer window.

He’s expected to revisit that situation to ease the burden on Premier League loanees Joe Hugill and Dale Taylor, and Academy product Josh Stones – who are all 20 years of age.