OPINION: Why Wigan Athletic need Shaun Maloney to follow up his 'ruthless' pledge this summer

They couldn’t...could they?
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In a season where we’ve come to expect the unexpected, perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest when – at their lowest ebb – Wigan Athletic came out and breathed new life into their survival bid at Stoke on Tuesday.

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Wigan Athletic chief says sorry - and pledges to 'be ruthless' in the rebuild.

Too little, too late?

It promises to be another eventful summer for Shaun Maloney and LaticsIt promises to be another eventful summer for Shaun Maloney and Latics
It promises to be another eventful summer for Shaun Maloney and Latics

Looking at the league table – and the results elsewhere on Wednesday – probably, unfortunately, so.

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But as Shaun Maloney reiterated after the game, if ever there’s a club where anything is possible, it’s this one.

And so we go on to Millwall at the DW this weekend when, once again, nothing other than a win will do.

Only this time – and for the first time this season – if results elsewhere go against, not even a win will do.

Heading into round 44 of 46, it’s out of Latics’ hands now.

But where there’s a Will – in this case, Keane – there is a way.

Along with an awful lot of ‘Belief’.

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But barring a miracle – even by this club’s standards - Saturday’s miserable offering at Blackpool was the final nail in the coffin.

It wasn't mathematically sealed, but Maloney's demeanour in his post-match media certainly represented a clear line being drawn in the sand.

No more excuses. No more mitigation.

Things have to change. Things will change.

The setback at the seaside summed up the season.

Another switch off at the back proved costly, with nothing at the other end to suggest a comeback was in the offing.

Maloney has been happy with the effort of his players under extreme circumstances.

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The suggestion is they’re paying the price for being part of a squad lacking too many important ‘profiles’ – including pace at the top end.

Even with their totally avoidable points deduction, Latics would be propping up the Championship.

Remarkable considering the club is understood to be operating with the 12th highest budget in the division.

Larger than both Luton and Coventry - who are third and seventh respectively.

The end of the season cannot come soon enough.

Time for a much-needed reset.

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Maloney and chairman Talal Al Hammad have already agreed on a vastly reduced budget for next season.

It’s understood it will be around a third of this year's budget, and two thirds of the outlay in Latics' last season in League One under Leam Richardson.

For further perspective, it's only half of the budget afforded Gary Caldwell in 2015/16 - although the club was still receiving parachute payments at the time.

Nevertheless, it's believed it will still be in the top 6/8 in the division, and Maloney is adamant it's enough to sustain a genuine promotion push.

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The Scot has had the most eventful of three months to assess the situation - on and off the field - and work out how to put things right.

And even in the current malaise, he's overseen improvements to allow cautious optimism for the long-term rebuild.

Latics' defensive record under Maloney has been the sixth best in the Championship. It was the worst when he took over.

His points-per-game total since taking over would see Latics out of the bottom three - and indeed as high as 16th after the recent win over QPR.

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Of course, as Maloney pointed out at the weekend, Latics have statistically the least effective attack in the division, and there's absolutely no getting away from that.

Indeed, the last time Latics scored more than once in a game was in the 2-1 victory in the corresponding fixture against Blackpool back in November.

Speed and ability in one-v-one situations will be at the top of the manager’s wanted list in summer, as well as a focus on younger players who will hopefully generate resale value.

The squad Maloney inherited was the second oldest in the division behind West Brom, and steps have already been taken to reduce that figure.

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According to industry stats, the Latics squad also has the lowest resale value in the division - totally at odds with the 'self-sustainable' goal the owners put in when they took over in 2021.

It should once again be an eventful summer at the DW, with plenty of movement in and out.

Maloney currently has 17 senior players under contract beyond this term, but it's expected several will move on for pastures new.

Some exits will be of mutual benefit, some will be players the club had hoped to retain.

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It won't quite be the blank canvas we had two summers ago, but hopefully enough to allow Maloney to shape the future in his own vision.

One with a change of culture and mentality, underpinned by free-flowing, attacking football, focused on bringing through - both from outside and within - talented young players, guided on their way by a number of senior players.

It might require one step backwards, but Maloney is adamant the future remains bright - both in the short term and the long term.

'Decisions have to be made, and I have to be ruthless in doing that,' he pledged at Blackpool.

More in terms of off-field structure as on-field.

We are about to find out just how ruthless.

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