Latics fan's goal pledge proves very costly but he’ll do anything to help his club

That is exactly what the Latics did in their 8-0 win over Hull last week, much to the surprise of lifelong fan Paul Pilling. At the start of the game, he vowed to donate £50 to the club for every goal and add £100 to the total if they won.

Expecting there to maybe only a few goals scored, he certainly wasn’t expecting to have to fork out £500.

A delighted Paul, who lives in Goose Green, said: “I was inspired by a tweet I saw of fellow fan Jack Green’s fund-raising challenge.

“There was a video and it was very emotional and set my heart strings.

“I wanted to try to help him get to his target, so I decided to donate £50 per goal in the recent game against Hull.

“I thought that maybe it might be two or three nil which I would have been happy with, I never expected it to be eight.”

The 30-year-old said he had been following the club since he was six when his grandad Harry Pomfrett took him to a game.

He said: “I loved it and I’ve been a Wigan fan through and through since.

“It’s mentally gutting what’s happened with club going into administration and being at risk of a points deduction and the new owners passing the EFL’s “Fit and Proper” test.

“So we need to get this and it’s really heartening to see so many people care and are raising money, as there are many other fans doing their own things.

He added: “The club is a massive part of our lives and the town and losing it would be like losing a family member.”

It comes after fellow Latics fan Jack Green completed a cycle fund-raising challenge recently from Wembley Stadium to the DW Stadium.

His Go Fund Me page shows he has raised more than £4,500 and the Lets Hang On Appeal has raised a massive £160,000 for the club.