'My dream is to see Wigan Athletic compete in Europe', reveals Talal Al Hammad

The new club chairman hopes to guide the League One outfit to promotion within the next five years.

And speaking to the Wigan Post – in his first interview on English soil – Talal admits he has even greater ambitions for Latics.

He referenced former owner Dave Whelan’s now-famous pledge to take the club into the top-flight, and hopes he can emulate that feat by achieving his own personal goal.

Talal said: “Mr Whelan took over this club in 1995, and he promised to reach the Premiership within 10 years.

“He delivered on that, and the beauty about football is that anything is possible.

“My personal dream - and I am not saying this will happen any time soon – is to see this club competing in Europe again.

“If that takes 10 years, or 15 years, maybe longer, that is my dream, that is my plan. And you have to dream – without dreams, you cannot live your life.

“Obviously the first step is to get this club back into the Championship, and I think we have five years to do that.

“But year on year, every year we will have a new goal.”

Talal will proudly take his seat as new chairman when Latics stage their first home game of the season – in front of a crowd – against Rotherham tomorrow.

He spoke to Paul Kendrick in a wide-ranging interview here