Coyle ready for Maribor test

Owen Coyle is confident that Wigan Athletic can use Thursday’s clash with Maribor as a springboard to UEFA Europa League success.

The FA Cup winners drew their opening game of Group D with Zulte-Waregem and Coyle wants his side to use home advantage to get a first taste of victory in Europe.

Their Slovenian opponents fell to a disappointing home defeat in their clash with Rubin Kazan, but Coyle knows that they will be dangerous foes at the DW Stadium.

“We acquitted ourselves well against Zulte-Waregem and now we’re aiming for maximum points tomorrow night,” he said.

“We want to be successful and we want to progress from this group. We feel as though we can do that.

“Maribor are a dangerous side, there are some real threats in the Maribor team, but we’ve watched them recently and are ready.

“We’ve got attacking threat in our side also and will be aiming to win.”

Wigan have struggled to adapt to life in the Championship following their relegation last season but Coyle is sure that they can handle competing on multiple fronts.

“We want to give the fans something to smile about for their efforts this season,” he added. “There will be one or two changes from the Watford game, but a positive team

“We’ve got a lot of games to play these season but they’re all great challenges

“It’s key that the group is excited to compete on two fronts, and everyone wants to play every game.”