Manager Darren Kelly wants a good run in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy this season to reward supporters for their commitment to the club.
Latics travel to the Greenhaus Meadow tonight to face Shrewsbury Town in the first round of the competition and the gaffer has stated his desire to go all the way to the final.
He said: "I was lucky enough to get to the final of this competition as a player and it’s an amazing journey for both players and supporters. If I’m honest, I’d love to do that in my first season here.
“If you look at the time, cost and effort supporters put in to coming to games, it would be an insult if we didn’t go down and take the game seriously.
“I want to give something to say thank you for the support they are giving me and the team, so there is no better way of doing that by getting to Wembley in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.”
The Shrews are a familiar outfit after last week’s 1-1 draw at SportsDirect.com Park but the manager believes this will be a different game.
“We know about them but teams go into different games with different scenarios and personnel,” he admitted.
"I’ll be playing a strong side. I want to progress in the cup because I was in the final of the LDV trophy, as it was once called, and it would be great if we could get the players and supporters to Wembley.”
This game marks the seventh game in 24 days for Kelly’s men but he will not be forced into wholesale changes. “We have a lot of quality in the team so either way we will have a strong side out,” he said.
"We have a good sports science department and a great physio so we will take their advise on board. The main thing is we have good strength in depth within the team and we’ll decide what to do on the day.”
Watch the full interview on Latics PlayerHD.