Wigan Athletic manager's stark message ahead of Bolton Wanderers clash

Latics host the high-flying Trotters at the DW aiming to take another step towards League One survival.

Their opponents are looking to bounce back from a 4-1 beating at Blackpool on Saturday, which saw them lose ground on some of their promotion rivals.

And Maloney is well aware of the stakes for both sides.

"It's a huge game for us," said the Latics boss, whose side drew 1-1 at home to Cheltenham on Friday night. "What I want to see is more of the second half against Cheltenham, in terms of the personality.

"There'll be some tactical things within the game I'm sure, but honestly, all I want is for all of our players to leave it out there. From the first whistle, just go for it.

"They're a good side, who've been on a brilliant run, but let's go for it and see what we've got."

Latics are hoping for a repeat of their 4-0 victory at Bolton back in August - but Maloney is not reading too much into that result.

"We had five or six chances, and we scored four goals," he added. "They had five or six chances and didn't score any.

"It was obviously an amazing day for our supporters, but I don't want any of our players to think about that result once ahead of this game.

"And it's the same for every game, whether you're playing Cheltenham, Shrewsbury or Bolton...you have to go into the game neutral.

"I'm just searching for that consistent mindset from game to game.

"And it is difficult, because the side is very young...I think the average age was only around 22 again on Friday.

"But I just want them to go into every single minute of every single game with a mentality of only being here to win."