Wigan Athletic skipper Gary Caldwell has insisted that "a lot of hard work needs to go in" as they prepare for the new Premier League season.

The 30-year-old has admitted, however, that the days of long-distance and conditioning work are becoming less of the norm.

"Long gone are the days when you come back to training and run until you're physically sick. Nowadays, especially with the gaffer and Graeme Jones, everything is much more controlled, planned and well thought out," he told the club's official website.

"A lot of the work is done with the ball; we're a passing team and need to find that confidence with the ball from early on so the work that is set out for us is very enjoyable but hard at the same time. A lot of hard work needs to go in this week if we're going to get our bodies ready for another tough season.

"We've been going to Sweden for the last couple of years now and it's always been an opportunity for us to really get pre-season under way and experience a bit of game-time too, which will help to dust the cobwebs off."

The Latics will play Ostersunds of Sweden on Thursday.