£500k raised to save Wigan Athletic... now a new target is set

The Save Our Club campaign has reached its £500,000 target - with a day to spare.

And Wigan Athletic Supporters Club have no plans to give up the fund-raising, with their sights now set on reaching the £750,000 milestone.

They are already talking to prospective buyers about part-owning Latics and the more they raise, the stronger their position when they negotiate a stake in the League One outfit.

In a worst case scenario and no buyer is found, the money will act as a safety net and allow the club to continue.

WASC said: "After such an inspiring response, we are now reviewing our plans with the belief that we could push our campaign even further.

"Every last penny received will be used to give our supporters a voice within our club, and with every extra pound raised our voice can only get stronger.

"For that reason our campaign will continue with the hopeful aim of reaching £750,000 by Friday 4th September. If our second target can be reached, then who knows how far we could go!

"We absolutely believe that our club will be stronger when our supporters work together to safeguard its future."

The initial target had a deadline of tomorrow to coincide with the administrators' previous call to find a buyer by August 31. However, on Friday they relaxed their position and said they had the funds to get Latics through September.

Many former and current Latics players have shown their support, including Sam Morsy, Chey Dunkley, Joe Gelhardt, Leon Balogun, Tom Pearce, James McClean, Joel Robles, Cedric Kipre, Reece James and Antonee Robinson. Former chairman David Sharpe has also pledged, while keeper Jamie Jones is auctioning off his League One winner's medal to boost the fund.

And ex-England star Jermain Defoe is thought to have donated £5,000 after a fan contacted him, asking him to pledge a grand for each of the goals he scored against Latics for Spurs in a 9-1 thrashing in 2009!

The fund can be reached here