Former Celtic winger Shaun Maloney is en route to Bahrain for crisis talks over Wigan Athletic's unpaid wages.

The Latics confirmed last week that there would be a delay in salary payments to staff and players for the fourth time in nine months.

Maloney, who took over as Wigan manager at the end of January after a spell with Hibernian, is flying to Bahrain to hold talks with club CEO Malachy Brannigan over the matter.

When asked on Saturday if his players had been paid, Maloney replied, as quoted by The Athletic: "No, not yet. That’s still not the case unfortunately."

The ongoing liquidity issues saw Wigan given a suspended three-point deduction the same month Maloney took charge due to the late issuing of wages in three separate months in 2022.

With punishment from the English Football League hanging over the club's head, Maloney said: "I think we have to wait and see but it was suspended last time and now it’s happened again so I think we have to expect that there’ll be something from the EFL.

"I don’t know what it will be but we have to be realistic. If I sat here and said something else it wouldn’t be true.

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“I think the points deduction will be the EFL that will decide. We knew what the sanction was: it was suspended and if it happened again… so we know what to expect and we have to leave that with the EFL.

“The situation’s now arisen that means that now has to be looked at by the EFL, and I understand that.”

Wigan currently prop up the Championship table with 34 points from 38 games. They are one point adrift of second-bottom Huddersfield Town and five behind Cardiff City, who occupy the first safe spot in the table.

The Latics do not return to action until April due to the international break, at which point Maloney hopes to have more information on the wages matter.

He added: "I’m expecting to get some clarity really. I think it’s a necessity that we get clarity on where the club’s at in the short term.

“I think we need clarity on what’s happened and why. And then we also have to have exactly the same for the long term vision of the club, I think. But the priority has to be the answers of the players need to be paid and we need the clarity around that.

“I’m not disappointed I don’t have the clarity, I’m just disappointed or disheartened for the players. I think they’re the ones that are obviously suffering the most. So my feelings are for them really."