Wigan Athletic, sponsored by 188BET, are delighted to announce they have signed Bolivian international striker Marcelo Moreno from Shakhtar Donetsk on loan until the end of the season, subject to visa and international clearance.

The 22 year-old joins the squad for the rest of the season and Roberto Martinez is thrilled to have further bolstered his strike force.

“We knew we needed more competition in the forward area, and now we have Victor Moses and Marcelo Moreno,” he said.

“Shakhtar paid 9 million Euros for him 18 months ago, which shows you how highly he is regarded, and he has all the ingredients to become a big player in this country.

“He still needs to find his feet in Europe, and we are confident that this will be at Wigan. Let’s see what happens over the next few months but he certainly fits the bill for what we are looking for at Wigan Athletic.

“He is young, a superb athlete, good in the air, technically good with both feet and he will add something new to the squad.

“Hopefully he can adapt quickly to the demands of the Premier League and become a real quality addition to the Wigan Athletic squad.”

Martins has Europe League experience having played on loan at Werder Bremen this season, and has a good scoring record for his country, having netted seven times in his first 17 matches for Bolivia.

Martins said: “Roberto Martinez sold the club to me, and I am determined to come to England and make an impression. I want to do everything I can to get in the team now and I’m looking forward to meeting all my new team mates and fighting for my place.”

Scotland international Gary Caldwell has signed for Wigan Athletic, sponsored by 188BET, to become Roberto Martinez’s third capture of the January transfer window after signing from Celtic for an undisclosed fee.

The 27-year-old was in Wigan today to put pen to paper on a 4 ½ year deal at the DW Stadium, bringing with him a wealth of experience and versatility, having played at centre-back, right-back and as a defensive midfielder.

Caldwell was at Newcastle United early in his career but it was in Scotland that he really made his name, firstly at Hibernian under current Celtic boss Tony Mowbray, then at Celtic Park.

Since joining Celtic back in 2006, The Stirling-born defender has made over a hundred appearances for the club, helping to secure two league titles, one Scottish Cup and one League Cup. His personal achievements also include becoming 2009 Clydesdale Bank SPL Player of the Year, as well as winning the Scottish Football Writers Footballer of the Year award.

Caldwell has 36 caps for his national side and was the scorer of the only goal in Scotland’s famous Euro 2008 qualifying win over France at Hampden Park in October 2006.

Roberto Martinez said: “Gary is a leader and he is exactly the right character we need at the club.

“He is a winner and will becoming a huge asset for Wigan Athletic. He is a commanding defender who will lead by example on and off the pitch.

“He has been part of a winning team at Celtic and brings with him great experience, having won league titles and cups, and played in the Champions League. I am excited to welcome him on board at Wigan Athletic.”

Caldwell said: “The manager made it quite clear what his ambitions are for this club and how much he wanted to bring me here.

“To play in the Premier League has always been an ambition of mine but I know how tough it’s going to be to get in the side and I need to focus on winning a place and doing the best I can for my new club.

“It’s a massive wrench for me to leave a club like Celtic but I want to thank the club and all the fans for the support they’ve given me in my time there.

“But I’m a Wigan Athletic player now and I can’t wait to get started in the Premier League.”

Wigan Athletic, sponsored by 188BET, have confirmed that Ivory Coast international defender Steven Gohouri has signed at the DW Stadium until the end of the season, becoming Roberto Martinez’ second signing of the January transfer window after Serbian international goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic arrived last week.

The 28 year old, who is a free agent after leaving German Bundesliga team Borussia Mönchengladbach in December, has impressed Martinez enough during a trial period over the past few weeks for  the Latics manager to offer him terms until the summer. Martinez says it is in the players hands if that extends further.

Martinez said: “Steven has a fantastic attitude and is desperate to play for Wigan Athletic and is the right character we are looking for.

“He has good experience, having played in several European leagues and in what has been a very difficult period for clubs because of the weather interrupting the training routines, he has gone about his business very professionally and shown us he has the potential to play in the best league in the world.

“He is a tremendous athlete, very powerful in the air, strong in the tackle and technically excellent. He will add serious competition for places in the squad and I am delighted to welcome him into the Wigan Athletic family.”

Gohouri has scored three goals in two appearances for The Ivory Coast, netting twice on his debut against Mauritius and scoring another against Madascar. With his country playing in the World Cup this summer, he has targeted a place in the Latics team as a potential route to South Africa.

“I am so grateful that Wigan have given me a chance to prove myself,” he says, “and I am desperate to repay that faith and show the manager, the club, and the supporters that they have made a good choice.

“There is a lot of quality in the squad but it’s up to me now to force my way into the team and make an impression.” 

The 6 ft 3 inch defender began his career with Paris Saint Germain in France but it was in Switzerland, with Yverdon, Vaduz and Young Boys of Bern that he really made his mark, earning a big money move to Germany in 2007.

Wigan Athletic, sponsored by 188BET, have confirmed that the Barclays Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers, postponed from December 21st 2009, will now take place at the DW Stadium on Tuesday 16th February 2010 with an 8pm kick off.

Fans can contact the club for further details.

Wigan Athletic, sponsored by 188BET, have confirmed that South Korean midfielder Won Hee Cho has agreed to return to his former club Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a one year loan deal.

The club stress that Cho will return to Wigan in January 2011, however.

Roberto Martinez explained that Cho is desperate to play first team football ahead of the summer’s World Cup, something that he was unable to promise him at the DW Stadium.

“Cho has been a good professional for us, with a great attitude,” he said, “and we wish him all the best in his quest to win a place in the South Korea squad for South Africa.

“We hope he performs well for club and country while he is away and look forward to welcoming him back this time next year.”

Cho joined the Latics on a free transfer in March 09, but managed just two league starts, at Stoke City last season and against Manchester United last week. He played in five league games in total whilst at Wigan Athletic.

The clash of 188BET sponsored clubs, Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers, regretfully has been called off. The Latics have announced that tonight’s game against Bolton has been postponed – despite their best efforts - this follows consultations with the police and the club’s safety team.

Following a thorough inspection, it was felt that the areas around the stadium, despite the best efforts of Wigan Athletic and Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, are deemed not safe for the public.

The Police and Met Office have issued severe weather warnings for the rest of the day, and are advising essential journeys only should be carried out. The club is duty bound to abide by this advise. 

The club wishes to apologise to all its supporters, and to the supporters of Bolton Wanderers, but their safety is of paramount importance. 

The club stress that every effort has been made to ensure the game could go ahead.

The DW Stadium pitch and the stadium itself are in perfect condition, after the ground staff and stadium staff worked throughout the weekend, with the undersoil heating being switched on for the last 48 hours and the pitch being covered to protect against the snow and ice.

The club and Wigan Metro also undertook extensive gritting on the roads directly around the stadium, much of this at the club’s own expense. However, these areas are actually equally as precarious as the untreated areas, due to the freezing conditions last night and into today..

The club wishes to put on record its thanks to the council for its help in this matter.

With a mile of private roads and ten acres of car parks to maintain, much of which are still under ice, and with weather forecasts predicting a temperature drop down to minus 6 degrees tonight, the collective decision between the club and the police has unfortunately been made to postpone the match.

There are also further issues the club wish to be made public.

Several of the DW Stadium car parks have steep gradients, which despite extensive gritting, cannot be made safe.

To comply with Premier League regulations, the club require a certain number of safety stewards to be in attendance at matches, and with the roads around the region being so hazardous, the club cannot guarantee that all the staff will be able to arrive safely prior to the kick off.

The club has major concerns about the homeward journey of both staff and supporters

The Police had intended to use their mounted division for the game. However, due to the conditions underfoot around the stadium, it was decided to cancel the mounted department.

The club are concerned for the safety of their disabled supporters. The car park allocated for our disabled fans is completely iced over, and despite the club’s best efforts, they cannot get it gritted. The highways are being prioritised for gritting.

All tickets will be valid for the rearranged date, when an announcement is made. However, refunds are also available, via the Ticket Office.

Wigan Athletic have announced that their players have decided to personally refund every Latics fan who bought a ticket  from the DW Stadium for the match against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday.

The Latics had a sizeable following at White Hart Lane and skipper Mario Melchiot, speaking on behalf of all the players, said today: “We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday, and this is a gesture we HAVE TO make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty.

“There is not a lot else to say, just that as a group of professionals we were embarrassed by the way we performed, we feel it was below our standards and this is something we feel we owe to the fans.

“Now we have to draw a line under the game, focus completely on training this week and bounce back on Saturday.

“We are professionals, we will take it on the chin and move on but it’s important that we do not take our supporters for granted.”

The club has confirmed that every supporter who bought a ticket  from the DW Stadium for the game yesterday should contact the ticket office, either in person or by phoning 0871 33 66 552, and a full refund will be posted to their home address, hopefully within 14 days.

Bolton Wanderers’ Football in the Community programme continued its great work with the Prince’s Trust last week by conducting a coaching session for the Prince’s Trust Bolton team.

Next month the members of the team will get the opportunity to spend a day at the Club’s training facilities as they become ‘A Player for a Day’. To ease the youngsters in, Senior Community Officer Steve Obertelli conducted a two-hour coaching session that involved a warm up, some work on the agility ladders, a passing and control session, finishing off with a shooting exercise and a game of five-a-side.

When asked about the youngsters’ performance, Steve said: “Some of this group need to spend a little more time on their feet exercising and not on the couch. They could do with trying to up their fitness and in some cases cut down on the cigarettes before they have their full days training.

“However, they did put the effort in and both males and females in the group participated well and are certainly looking forward at the rare opportunity to undertake training at a Premier League training facility.”

Fans of Wigan, sponsored by 188BET, are being offered the incredible opportunity of watching Bobby’s Boys for the upcoming 3 Barclays Premier League at the DW Stadium for just £30!

Fans can watch the games against Europa League qualifiers Fulham, Sunderland – including the return of Steve Bruce to the DW! – and newly promoted Birmingham City for just an incredible £30.00.

At the same time, Latics Season Ticket Holders can be QUIDS IN when they can bring a friend to either of the three games for just £1.

In a message to the fans manager Roberto Martinez, said: “The atmosphere you generated in the game against Chelsea was electric, and to have the correct environment is a massive help to the players.

“I understand how important it is for the town to get behind its Premier League team and schemes like this show how attractive it is to come and watch the Latics in the best league competition in the World.”

Interested fans should contact the club box office for more details.

Wigan Athletic have scooped the LMA F&C Performance of the Week for last weekend’s 3-1 victory over Chelsea.

The LMA five-man Performance of the Week panel, comprising LMA Chairman Howard Wilkinson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Joe Royle, Dave Bassett and Barry Fry, were in agreement that the award should go to Latics.

Upon receiving the award manager Roberto Martinez commented on how the trophy will act as a reminder of the potential within the club, and of course of a fantastic day.

”It’s a great momentum to represent what was a special performance,” said Martinez.

”Obviously it was needed to beat such an exciting team like Chelsea. It’s great to pick up these awards for everyone connected with Wigan Athletic and hopefully we’ll have some more over the season.

”It’s clear that that is what we’re capable of doing so we need to maintain those levels and carry on with those kinds of performances week-in week-out.

”In the Premier League if you want to be successful you have to maintain those levels, but it was a special moment; the first time we had beaten one of the top-four after 34 attempts, so it will be nice to keep that award for everyone, and have a nice memory.

”Although we had a fantastic performance and result against Chelsea, that is at the back of our minds now.

”I’m happy to accept the award and keep it away from the players for the time being, until after the Hull City game.

”We’re now focused on what is a great opportunity to carry on showing those standards, and we need to do that against a side looking for a reaction to the form they are in. We have to be prepared for what is going to be a very demanding game.”

And any messages to the players before they take to the field at the KC Stadium on Saturday afternoon?

”Be prepared for the battle.

”In the first 20-25 minutes they (Hull City) will let us know we’re in for a tough game. After that, we need to find a way to be ourselves in what will be difficult conditions.

”It’s going to be hard to dictate the play, hard to get on the ball. We need to earn that right to own the ball because it’s going to be scrappy from a team looking for a home reaction. To be ourselves we have to win a strong battle.

”Unless you have no fear you cannot be yourself and won’t get results. It’s a straight forward approach; we have to be brave.”