‘A real change’: Shaun Maloney has told Pompey what to expect from Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic manager Shaun Maloney has hailed Pompey ‘as one of the biggest teams in the league’ at the DW Stadium this weekend.

The Lactics suffered a 4-1 defeat to Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium last Saturday, and are now seeking a response against ‘one of the biggest teams’ in League One by his own admission.

Pompey lead in the league standings and there are 14 points separating the two sides ahead of kick-off with Wigan in 21st having endured a four-point deduction.

Despite their lowly position, and a hammering to a mid-table side last week, the 40-year-old has seen the response that he has wanted during the build-up to Saturday’s match.

“Today I have noticed a real change in mentality, he said to Wigan Today.

“I know how competitive the squad can be and I felt I really saw a competitive training session today. We have to bring that in every single game and it starts in training.

"We would have loved a game midweek, but Portsmouth is a brilliant game," began Maloney.

"We have played some really big teams in our league and we have had a really good start to the season. Portsmouth have won one more game than us and they are a really good team who will look to try and play through us.

"Portsmouth is a brilliant game, they're one of the biggest teams in the league, and we know what we need to do from a mentality point of view.”

As for who he believes will cause his side the most problems, the Wigan boss has chosen the obvious name; Colby Bishop.

The 26-year-old has registered five goals and an assist in nine league games this season, and listed one of his key attributes that his defenders will have to contend with.

Maloney said: "They have a good number nine who is very good on long balls so let’s go toe to toe and see what we have."