U's boss Humes challenges his side to take "scalp" of Wigan

The Latics were in the Premier League two seasons ago and won the FA Cup, beating Manchester City, in 2013.

However, back-to-back relegations has seen them slide into League One and an inconsistent start to the campaign has left them tenth - two places and a point above Colchester.

“It’s a great fixture,” said Humes.

“We know it’s going to be a hard game, against experienced players.

“But our lads will be relishing that prospect and looking forward to the challenge.

“Wigan have had a difficult start but they’re going to come good and be strong.

“When a team has back-to-back relegations, it knocks them and takes them time to adapt.

“But they’re getting accustomed to League One.

“The expectation is on them to go straight back up, with the squad, facilities and stadium they’ve got.

“They’re set up to be a Premier League club.

“But they’re a scalp for their opposition.

“Teams want to beat them and that’s exactly what we’ll be trying to do.”

Humes insists there has been no negativity in the camp, following last week’s defeat at Shrewsbury.

The U’s threw away a two-goal lead before losing 4-2.

“The five, six or seven games previously were very good, so it’s important not to be too negative,” said the U’s boss.

“We were in a good position and should have gone on to win the game. There’s no doubt about that.

“But we didn’t and we’ve looked at the areas where we didn’t do quite so well in the second half.

“We’ve tried to tighten up and remain positive.

“The boys want to put it right and put it behind them.

“They’ve been fine this week and there’s been no negativity.

“It’s just a question of knowing what they could have done better.

“When we won four games, we weren’t saying we were going to do this or that.

“Now, just because we’ve lost two, we’re not going to hit the panic button and say we’re struggling all of a sudden.

“It’s down to the belief of the players and trying to get back that level of performance and confidence.”