Shaun Maloney comments highlight Wigan Athletic recruitment failure and will have Nottingham Forest torn | OneFootball

Dale Taylor's parent club Nottingham Forest will be pleased by his Wigan Athletic performances but could be concerned by Shaun Maloney's comments

Wigan Athletic are currently enduring an underwhelming season in League One and sit seven points clear of the relegation zone with 14 games remaining.

While the Latics are also a mere five points adrift of the top-half following Tuesday night's impressive 2-1 triumph over Huddersfield Town, the Brick Community Stadium faithful have been left disappointed by their side's lack of quality in attacking areas over the course of the campaign.

In fact, Shaun Maloney's men are the joint-lowest scorers in League One, having managed just 30 goals in 32 third-tier fixtures so far this term.

Meanwhile, the club's joint-top goalscorer in League One this term is still academy graduate Thelo Aasgaard, who scored eight league goals before he left the Greater Manchester outfit in favour of joining Championship side Luton Town last month in a move first reported by Football League World.

But striker Dale Taylor, on loan with the Latics from Premier League club Nottingham Forest, also reached the eight-goal mark on Tuesday night when he showed plenty of composure to round Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls and tap the ball home into an empty net.

Dale Taylor claim show Wigan Athletic recruitment failure and will have Nottingham Forest torn

Ahead of Wigan's clash with Huddersfield, Latics boss Maloney revealed that he had to adjust the forward's training schedule due to the fact that the man on loan from Forest is his side's last remaining striker following a recent injury picked up by January loan signing Will Goodwin.

The Tics boss told Wigan Today: "He (Taylor) is our main striker at the moment, and we'll have to adjust some of his training so he performs like he did at Crawley last week.

"We'll try our best to keep him on the pitch, because he's been brilliant for us."

There is no doubt that Taylor's loan move from Forest to WN5 has been a roaring success for all parties, as he has notched eight goals and seven assists for the Latics in League One this season, meaning he has been directly involved in 50% of his current club's third-tier goals this term.

Prior to his stint at the Brick Community Stadium, the Northern Ireland international had never managed a better league return than the feat of five goals and one assist he produced during previous loan stints with both Wycombe Wanderers and Burton Albion.

It is clear to see, then, that under Maloney's management, Taylor has become a more clinical striker, which will please parent club Forest.

But while the Champions League chasers will be happy with the progress their starlet is making in the third tier with the Latics, they will not be pleased to hear that Taylor's training schedule is being closely managed due to the Greater Manchester club's shortcomings over the course of the last two transfer windows.

Last summer, the Tics allowed senior forward trio Josh Magennis, Charlie Wyke and Stephen Humphrys to depart the club for free following the expiration of their respective contracts.

Those forwards were not replaced by a single permanent signing, with the Latics instead opting to acquire the loan services of Taylor as well as Manchester United youngster Joe Hugill.

But by the January transfer window, Maloney's frontline situation became even more concerning when Wigan made the decision to sell Josh Stones to National League outfit York City, consequently leaving the club without a permanent striker.

Goodwin joined the Latics on loan from Oxford United last month, but his injury has left Taylor as Wigan's last man standing in terms of striking options, as Hugill was recalled by Man United and subsequently deployed on loan to League Two side Carlisle United.

Such a development will concern Forest to an extent, as their 21-year-old is currently carrying a heavier-than-desired workload in League One.

But at the same time, the Northern Ireland starlet is also guaranteed minutes for a club he has performed extremely well for throughout the campaign.

Meanwhile, there is no doubt that everyone associated with the Latics would feel more comfortable if their club had not failed to recruit a permanent forward in recent months.

Wigan Athletic did try to bolster their frontline in January

Maloney recently revealed: "Once the decision was made to allow Stones to go to York, I think we were always aware of what might happen in that position.

"I do like having two '9s', and Maleace (Asamoah) can play in that position too.

"He did that at (former club) Waterford.

"But we did try on that day to get another '9' in.

"It just proved impossible.

"I think when Thelo (Aasgaard) left, it meant we could try to accelerate a few of the things we'd planned on coming back to in the summer.

"Unfortunately, some things just don't come off."

For now then, the Latics will have to embark on their quest to climb the League One table with Taylor being their only recognised striker who is fit to play.

Such a development will surely evoke mixed feelings among the Forest coaching staff, who will be thrilled by his performances with Wigan, but potentially concerned by how much pressure he now finds himself under.