Huddersfield Town’s hopes of keeping hold of on-loan striker Grant Holt into the New Year appeared to nosedive as new Wigan Athletic boss Malky Mackay said: “He’s still our player, very much so.”
The 33-year-old frontman has made a major impact at the John Smith’s Stadium, and is set for an 11th Town outing in Saturday’s game at Bolton Wanderers.
Holt was allowed out on loan after a fall-out with former Wigan manager Uwe Rosler, and Town persuaded their Championship rivals to waive the standard recall clause.
That means the Carlisle-based former Norwich City player will remain at Town until December 28, making him available for a further six matches.
“Grant Holt is absolutely a Wigan Athletic player, make no mistake about that,” said Mackay.
“He is someone I don’t know personally, but I do know through my connections at Norwich City – with both of us having played down there – how well he did for them and overall in his career.
“There’s an understanding from me of what he brings in terms of goalscoring ability.”
Mackay says he will give all the players he has inherited an opportunity to show what they can do before he considers bringing in new faces in January.
“It’s a squad full of talented players, but they need to show that on the field,” he added.
While Town are 14th in the 24-team division, Wigan are second-bottom ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sheffield Wednesday.
They are without a win in four matches.
