Pattenden’s appearance against Wigan was his first for nine weeks since picking up an injury in another home goalless draw – against Bolton on 20 December.

It was his first game under new head coach Mike Dodds and in a Wycombe squad boosted by several winter transfer window signings.

“It’s a big squad, there’s lots of competition for places, so everybody’s just working really hard and knows they have to be on it every single day if they want to play at the weekend or a Tuesday night,” the 22-year-old said.

“It’s healthy competition, I know that (phrase) gets thrown around a lot but I think it is the case with us. I think that drives everyone forward.”

Wycombe, who had one season in the Championship under former boss Gareth Ainsworth in 2020-21, face a crunch lunchtime game away to leaders Birmingham City on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Victory would put them just three points behind the Blues although Chris Davies’ team have two games in hand.

“It’s a massive game on paper – one that people have probably put a red circle (around) on the calendar for a while,” Pattenden added.

“Every game in this league is tough (…) so we’ll prepare, we’ll focus on us – we’ve got a full week’s training so we can really get stuck in, go there and look to get a result.”

Wycombe’s seven-match schedule next month also includes a home fixture against Wrexham on 15 March.