Newly-formed Wigan Athletic fans' group issue progress update

In it, they pledge to ‘continue to raise our own concerns’ on the current situation.

"Over the past 72 hours, tentative discussions have been taking place between a small number of Latics supporters linked to fan groups, social media pages and supporters involved with fanzines around starting a formal, independent fan group for all supporters," the statement read.

"After testing the water on social media, your response has been overwhelming.

"Maybe this shouldn’t have been a surprise, given the current situation at the club, but we’re now clear there is an appetite amongst Wigan Athletic fans for this type of group.

"Our discussions will continue to develop over the next few days and weeks as we develop our plans to build an organic organisation totally separate from the people who run the football club, who we can both support but offer constructive criticism when the need arises.

"We will keep all who have signed up for email updates informed in due course as well as using social media to inform people but following some questions that have been raised with us, thought we should make some things clear:

* For at least the time being, we are not attempting to speak on behalf of Wigan Athletic fans. We know an independent fans group needs to build trust amongst the wider community of supporters. This will take time. However, we will continue to raise our own concerns, as appropriate, we know many of you share them.

* We know there are independent fan groups, websites, podcasts and other outlets out there we haven’t spoken to yet. Things have moved at a pace none of us expected. We plan to communicate our plans in due course, but feel free to contact us, if you want to add to the conversation.

* We also appreciate there is an official Supporters Club. We do not have any issues with the people involved there, who also care deeply for Wigan Athletic. However, we feel a more independent group, free from the patronage of the club, has something different to offer. We hope the Supporters Club recognise this too, and look forward to working together in the future."

Alan Moore, from the ‘Pie at Night’ podcast, acting as a spokesman for the group, said: “We know there’s a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we really do think now is the time to seriously consider this idea.

"Hopefully the right people will agree and will step forward to lead the group when the time comes.”

For more details, visit https://indielatics.uk