Hard pre-season for Wigan

Gary Caldwell: Wigan's pre-season training will be meticulously planned

Wigan club captain Gary Caldwell has told the Latics squad that they can expect a tough pre-season in Sweden under Roberto Martinez.

The 30-year-old centre back admitted that the sessions are no longer all about running and fitness, but will also take a lot of ball work.

The Latics have started their preparations in Scandinavia, where they will stay until Sunday, and will play their first friendly against Ostersunds on Thursday.

"Long gone are the days when you come back to training and run until you're physically sick," Caldwell told the club's official website.

Planned

"Nowadays, especially with the gaffer and Graeme Jones, everything is much more controlled, planned and well thought out.

"A lot of the work is done with the ball; we're a passing team and need to find that confidence with the ball from early on so the work that is set out for us is very enjoyable but hard at the same time.

"A lot of hard work needs to go in this week if we're going to get our bodies ready for another tough season.

"We've been going to Sweden for the last couple of years now and it's always been an opportunity for us to really get pre-season under way and experience a bit of game-time too, which will help to dust the cobwebs off."