Paul Cook admits Wigan's transfer business 'hasn't been great' amid fruitless pursuit of Portsmouth's Jamal Lowe

Pompey have stood firm on their £3m price tag for their prized asset, with the Latics’ latest bid of £2.6m being rebuffed.

Following that rejection, Cook’s faced with conceding defeat in his long-term chase for last season’s 17-goal top scorer.

The Wigan boss accepted the players he’s been after, including Lowe, have been well documented.

But Cook – who left Fratton Park for the DW Stadium in May 2017 – insisted the Latics will continue to work hard to bring in fresh faces.

Speaking to the Wigan Post earlier this week, the Liverpudlian said: ‘It’s been quite documented we’re after players, for sure.

‘We haven’t done what we wanted to do in the transfer market, that’s for sure.

‘The team on the first day of the season – it’s still very much “Watch this space”.

‘And I do understand the fans’ frustration, it’s quite logical.

‘It hasn’t been great, but we’ll just keep working hard in the situations we’re in.

‘You can’t tell people everything that might happen, might not happen, won’t happen.

‘Everyone knows we need to bring in players and we’re working very hard with that.

‘Seriously, like every manager, you always want more than what you have.

‘The important thing, with the deadline getting closer, is we keep at it, keep doing our best.

‘And hopefully by the time the window closes, we’ll have some good players coming in.’

Lowe did not feature in Pompey’s 2-1 pre-season win at Crawley yesterday, while he’s not expected to feature at Woking on Tuesday.