DAVID Wheater is expecting a new arrival this summer that could potentially turn his life upside down.

The Wanderers defender has been swotting up, doing his homework, and might even be able to parade the summer signing after the final game of the season.

Anyone who caught Wheater’s celebration after his first goal in two years on Tuesday night will have got a big clue as to the identity of the new recruit.

The 27-year-old and his wife Laura are expecting a baby girl and in typical Wheater style, he celebrated the fact with a tongue-in-cheek homage as he looks forward to a first taste of fatherhood.

“The lads thought I was trying to get the game going again,” he told The Bolton News. “But it was for my wife – she’s pregnant, so I grabbed the ball and put it under my top.

“It’s a baby girl and she’s due on May 2. With a bit of luck she’ll come a couple of days early and I can bring her out for the last game.”

Married two-and-a-half years ago in Redcar, the Wheaters have settled in Bolton and have set about making preparations for a third member of the family.

“I am going to be the coolest dad around,” Wheater said. “Everyone says as soon as the baby comes you love it and your life changes, so hopefully it all goes well.

“I’ve done a few classes and learned how to put a nappy on. It has to be done, doesn’t it?”

On the pitch, things are also going well for Wheater, who is now hitting his stride after a long struggle with a knee problem.

The last time he found the net, twice as it turns out, was against Blackburn in 2012, in a game that will be remembered chiefly for the outpouring of support for Fabrice Muamba, then still in a serious condition in hospital.

“It's been a while so I think I was definitely due one,” the defender admitted.

“I wasn't supposed to be there to head it in - I was supposed to run to the front post. But I saw the flight of the ball and thought 'I am not leaving this’.

“It was great to get a goal finally. I keep saying you need more out-swingers. In-swingers should be banned because they are too hard to get on the end of.

“It was good to get a clean sheet as well because if you keep doing that hopefully someone will nick a sneaky goal.”

Wheater has his sights set on a big finish to the season, albeit too late to achieve the club’s target of a play-off place. But while the top six is out of reach, the centre-half feels that Wanderers owe it to their supporters to leave for the summer break on a high.

“It’s too late for the play-offs now but we have to do well for the fans because they have been brilliant all season, and it hasn’t been easy,” he said.

“We’ve got Wigan on Saturday and derbies seem to be the games where we are getting the three points.

“Local bragging rights is always what you want as a fan, so hopefully we can keep the roll going.”