No team in League One has handed more minutes to academy graduates than Wigan Athletic this season.  

The man behind giving youth a chance at the Latics is former Wigan player, Shaun Maloney, who is in just his second managerial job. The former Scotland international, who won the FA Cup with Wigan as a player as well as eight major trophies with Celtic during his playing days has steered the Club to the brink of a top 10 finish this season despite beginning the season on minus eight points.  

Young players have been at the heart of that success with Maloney giving nearly 45% of playing minutes to Academy developed players so far this season.  

Maloney explained the rationale for giving those young players an opportunity: “I think we were the oldest team in the Championship last year and the financial side of the club was completely out of control, so we had to figure out a different model. We made the decision to go down the path with a lot of younger players from our academy, and they ‘ve been brilliant.  

“When I watched them in April last year in a reserve final against Blackpool, to think we have four or five players from that team that are now starting almost every week for us is really rewarding but at the same time I have to be patient.  

“The players won’t be as consistent as somebody who has played 300 games, but I’ve actually loved it. I’ve loved what the younger players have done.  

“Sometimes it has been really hard, League One is a really difficult league, sometimes it’s really physical. Some of the games are like no reserve game they have ever had. It's been a brilliant experience for them and I’m pretty sure they’ll be a lot stronger for it next year.” 

The Wigan manager’s chat with the EFL came just after Gareth Southgate announced the England squad for March’s international break, with 12 of those players having been developed by an academy of a current EFL team while 17 made their debut in an EFL competition.  

Wigan sit 11th having bedded in young talent since the beginning of the season. One stand out player in the side has been Sam Tickle. Tickle broke into the starting eleven this season having made just one league appearance last season.  

The 21-year-old shot stopper has since been rewarded with a call up to England’s under-21s side following a number of impressive performances for the Latics.  

Another key cog in the machine is former Manchester City and Liverpool academy prospect Charlie Hughes. The towering central defender managed to cement his place in the team after Christmas last season.  

Since then, the 20-year-old has proven to be a key member of Maloney’s side, with the Wigan-born centre-back captaining the side a number of times, including the side’s FA CUp third round tie against Manchester United. 

Maloney also cites his introduction to coaching with Celtic Under-19’s as a vital part of his coaching journey while the time spent working with Roberto Martinez with the Belgian national team has also had an impact on how he coaches his players.  

He continued: “I think I was fortunate as I was with Celtic Under-19s in my first year of coaching, which I think has been invaluable this season.  

“Even the three-and-a-half years I spent in Belgium, they had some incredible players, elite players, some of the best players in Europe in their position but we also, through all of that, had some young players coming through. I think because I was a little bit younger as a coach and I used to travel to go and see them, that definitely helped.  

“I’m definitely getting older, but I feel I still have a slight memory of what it feels like to be a player and I think that does help. I hope I don’t lose that; I want to win as many games as I can, but I also understand that there’s certain things that aren’t possible and certain things that I have to remember as a player.  

“The thing about the younger ones, and even the senior ones, is it’s not been an easy season off the pitch, and I have to constantly remind myself of that because I want to win as many games as I can.”