Goalkeeper aiming to cement place in first-team after relishing recent opportunities

Two starts, two clean-sheets. Not a bad record so far for Ali Al Habsi whose performances between the sticks have been a major factor in Latics picking up their first wins of the season against Hartlepool and, on Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur.

Speaking after that fantastic win in the capital Al Habsi explained how he's loving every minute at the club and is hoping for more opportunities to prove his worth;

"Since I joined the club I've enjoyed every minute of being here," said Al Habsi.

"Training with Chris Kirkland and Mike Pollitt has been fantastic and certainly brought a little more out of me.

"The most important thing as a player is that when you are given a chance you have to take it and show you're hungry for it.

"Since I arrived in England four-years ago it has been a dream of mine to play regular Premier League football.

"I've gathered a lot of experience during my time in this country and now it is my time to start proving myself on the pitch. Hopefully now I'll be given more chances and get more games under my belt."

Taking into account some of the fantastic saves the Oman international has pulled off recently, it's fair to say he'll be giving Roberto Martinez some selection problems for the upcoming game against Sunderland and beyond.

But as Al Habsi explained, being ready when needed is all part of the job description;

He said:"When you are a goalkeeper you have to be ready for anything. You can be called upon at any time and the rest of the team are relying on you to make a save.

"Once Hugo (Rodallega) scored his goal for us it was vital that we stepped things up at the back and kept our concentration.

"I think the back-four and the rest of the team were fantastic all afternoon in making sure we all kept Tottenham out.

"They were three fantastic points we picked up and it was important that we took our performance from the Hartlepool game to White Hart Lane, which we did.

"After the first two league games there was a bit of pressure on us to get something from the Spurs game, and everyone on the pitch played a massive role in helping us achieve that.

"Everyone was over the moon in the dressing room afterwards and the performance and the result gives us plenty to build on ahead of the Sunderland game.

"Hopefully now we can build on this win and keep getting stronger and stronger."