Shaun Maloney putting 'pressure' on upstairs to shape Wigan Athletic squad as quickly as possible

Latics are only just into the second week of the off-season, but Maloney is already thinking about next season and beyond.

It promises to be another huge summer of upheaval, with as many as 15 senior players no longer under contract.

Ben Amos, Stephen Humphrys, Jordan Jones, Jason Kerr, Josh Magennis, Callum McManaman, Tom Pearce and Charlie Wyke are coming to an end of their present deals.

And Luke Chambers (Liverpool), Martial Godo (Fulham), Charlie Goode (Brentford), Charlie Kelman (QPR), Liam Morrison (Bayern Munich), Liam Shaw (Celtic) and Kell Watts (Newcastle) have returned to their parent clubs.

The club are expected to release their retained list in the coming days, which should shed some light on the matter.

Latics are understood to have tabled offers for a number of the out-of-contract players including Humphrys, Jones, Kerr and Magennis.

It also seems inconceivable McManaman will not extend his stay, having seen his career - which at one point he believed to be over - revitalised under Maloney.

For his part, the manager says he's not unduly concerned for now about the uncertainty - but he is anxious for things to get moving over the coming weeks.

“In terms of the majority of things, it's pretty good,” he said. "Behind the scenes...so not really myself, that's where the sporting director becomes very important, the chairman (Ben Goodburn), and Lucas Danson.

"The plans are all there...pre-season is fully organised, in terms of the fixtures, and the trips. Recruitment will take all summer, which is pretty normal.

"I'm trying my best to make sure we try to get as much of what our squad will look like here on day one of pre-season training.

"That's the pressure I'm putting on the sporting director and the head of recruitment...can we get as many of our squad together on that first day, because it does make a big difference.

"Gregor and Stevie did a great job in the January window, and I'm putting a lot of pressure on them to get as many of the squad together on day one as we can.

"I know I've spoken about not getting every single part of the budget, but that doesn't mean that the majority of the plans haven't been made. It just means in certain areas we have to understand what the budgets are, but that is pretty normal.”

While the fans are desperate to hear positive news on the contract front, Maloney insisted work has been going on behind the scenes.

"There've been some players we've tried to re-sign, but it hasn't been agreed yet," he added. "There's maybe a couple we've offered contracts to and it's not quite been what they've wanted.

"Bristol Rovers might have been the last game for some, but also it might not have been.

"We'll keep pushing really hard to keep the ones we want, and as always I'm so grateful to the senior players for what they've done this year.

"I'll have a budget, I'll have a budget for certain positions, and we'll see how that goes."