Wigan Athletic boss sounds Joe Taylor warning ahead of Huddersfield Town trip - 'the difficult thing'

Gary Caldwell and Wigan Athletic know exactly what to expect from Joe Taylor when his side travel to Huddersfield Town this weekend.

The problem, as he readily admits, is being able to do anything about it.

Taylor's 11 goals in the second half of last season on loan from Huddersfield played a huge part in Latics remaining in League One.

And he's picked up where he left off since returning to Huddersfield over the summer, with eight goals and two assists in 10 matches to propel the Terriers into second spot.

"Joe's a striker we know very well, he's one of the best in the league, we saw that for ourselves here last season," acknowledged Caldwell.

"He was fantastic for me since I came back to the club in February, a really top player. And he's gone back to Huddersfield and continued scoring goals - which is frustrating.

"We know what he does - the difficult thing is stopping it."

After seeing their side struggle to find the net all season, Latics fans will be forgiven for thinking what might have been.

"It was never even a conversation," replied Caldwell, when asked about the possibility of Taylor remaining a Wigan player.

"Yes we would have liked it, because he is a fantastic player and I loved working with him. I think we were good for him, and he was obviously brilliant for us.

"And he has certainly carried on at Huddersfield where we left off with us. But it was never even a conversation, let alone something that was close."

On his personal relationship with the 23-year-old - who was recently called up by the senior Wales squad - Caldwell failed to suppress a big smile.

"He was miserable most of the time," laughed the Scot. "I'll try and wind him up on Saturday, because he didn't like being shouted at occasionally by a Scotsman!

"But seriously, I got on great with him - I don't know if he'll say the same thing! - and if you're looking for a striker that will score you goals and create moments, that's him all over.

"He had some games for us where he was tactically excellent...I remember him man-marking Max Power when we played Bradford here, and going on to score a big goal as well.

"But he also has weaknesses, and we have to do whatever we can to bring out the weaknesses in Joe Taylor, and Huddersfield as a team.”

Not that Huddersfield are a one-man team - far from it.

"Huddersfield are a team that, in my opinion, have been ready for a real promotion push for a number of years, and for whatever reason it hasn't materialised,” added Caldwell.

"They've always looked to have the squad and the players, and I think now they have a new manager and a new way of playing that is proving to be successful."