Sunday update from the Wigan Athletic administrators

Co-administrator Dean Watson provided an update on Wigan Athletic's search for a buyer ahead of Sunday's League One opener at Ipswich.
Dean WatsonDean Watson
Dean Watson

Watson travelled down to take in the 2-0 defeat, and was asked before the game if a deal was in the offing.

"In terms of interesting parties, we've been talking to four or five interested parties, who are working at various paces and are all at different stages," Watson said.

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"But it's a very fluid position...we could be in a position this week where we're ready to sign a contract, and on the flip side any of them could pull out at any time.

"I don't want to build up hopes but there are interested parties out there and we are talking to them."

Watson was also asked by Sky Sports whether the huge number of player departures since the end of last season had been absolutely necessary.

"When we took over on July 1, we were parachuted into a position where we didn't know what was what," he added.

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"Unfortunately the club got relegated, and there were a lot of football creditors who had to be paid, wages had to be paid and various other bills had to be paid.

"So there was a necessity in terms of player sales in order to pay those bills.

"Built into that, there were also a few players who didn't want to play in League One, so it's a combination of the two.

"You've then got the potential football club owners out there with their own issues, having suffered in the global pandemic, so that's also had an effect."