SEAN Dyche says he expects Wigan Athletic to emerge as strong promotion contenders in the second half of the season.

Rather than being frustrated not to win, the Clarets boss made the rare step of admitting he was satisfied with a point. And he believes it will prove to be a valuable one when the campaign nears a conclusion.

“They’ve got a new manager, they’ve got a group of players who as often happens have suddenly found and extra yard of energy and pace when a new manager walks in, and we knew that was a tough game,” he said.

He added: “It’s a rare one for me, I’ll accept that point. Normally I’m always searching for the three but I think the timing of coming here makes it very tough – a new manager, different feel, players suddenly finding increased motivation and we were very disciplined to get a point.”

Dyche added: “I personally think that’s arguably the best squad of players in the division, so don’t think you’re going to come to Wigan and have an easy game because you're not in my opinion.

“I’ve seen the finances spent here and the quality of players brought in and it bodes well for them as a future concern. Don’t be surprised if they have a very good second half of the season with that squad of players.”