Maloney: Wigan have to show Cobblers the same respect as they did Manchester United

Wigan Athletic boss Shaun Maloney has told his players they have to show the Cobblers the same respect as they did to Premier League giants Manchester United when they travel to Sixfields for 'a huge game' on Saturday (ko 3pm).

The Latics were beaten 2-0 by Erik Ten Haag's side in the FA Cup third round at a sold-out DW Stadium on Monday night.

It was a big occasion and a massive test for Wigan, who performed admirably to restrict a strong United side to a goal in each half in front of the watching nation on ITV.

But it is back to the bread and butter of Sky Bet League One survival for the Latics on Saturday, with the north west side still battling to avoid the drop following their eight-point deduction for finanacial irregularities in the summer.

They are currently 18th in the table, just four points above the drop zone, and Maloney is keen to stress to his players, particularly the less experienced ones, that taking on an in-form Cobblers side could well be every bit as testing as taking on Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Co.

Maloney admitted he was impressed with the Cobblers in their 2-1 defeat at the DW in August, and five months down the he remains an admirer of Jon Brady's side, who are on a run of seven wins in their past 10 league encounters and sit ninth in the table.

“Saturday will be a big challenge," said the Wigan boss. "Northampton were a big challenge here for large parts of that game and they were very good on the ball.

“They created big chances and in that game, we relied on Callum McManaman producing a moment of brilliance, which we know he can.

“But they are really good with the ball.

"They’ll try and play their way through us, and have some really good technical players.

"I really liked what we did in the second half without the ball against United, and I have to see the same mentality against Northampton from the first whistle.

“We have to be as hard as possible to play through, and then I think we’ve got talent to hurt any team in this league.

"But the big thing is without the ball, and if we’re at our very best, we’ve got a chance of winning this game.

"I have liked what I have seen in training, there was an undercurrent of really trying to win every drill, and we have to bring that when the whistle comes on Saturday.

"If we do then we can be a decent side, we have senior players and I will push them hard to bring that mentality to the young ones.

"They have had a big game against a big opponent, but for us this is another huge game this weekend."