The inside story of D-Day for Wigan Athletic as court hearing will decide Championship fate

While the administrators continue to seek a buyer to solve the long-term problem, David Phillips QC and his team will be fighting hard to overturn a 12-point deduction which would help massively in the short term.

Although the hearing will be completed on Friday, unfortunately the agony will go on for some time, with a decision not expected for at least a few days.

But having committed to a defence costing into the region of £500,000, the club have done everything they can to prevent what most in the game would consider a major miscarriage of justice – a side being relegated to League One despite finishing in 13th spot.

The hearing will take place in private, because of the confidential nature of the documents being submitted.

As a result, there will be no updates - as with 'normal' court proceedings - until the hearing is completed.

After being hit by the 12-point deduction immediately following last Wednesday’s draw with Fulham – which dropped them into the bottom three – Latics put in their notice of appeal, complete with supporting documents.

Being as exceptional a case as could be imagined, the EFL had a decision to make – and elected to fight it tooth and nail.

They put in a reply to the notice of appeal, with Latics then putting in a detailed response to the reply.

Both parties produced witnesses, with the rules also providing for a report from an independent firm of accountants, detailing what caused the administration.

This holds a disproportionate weight, because of its independence, and as such will be treated as more sacrosanct than the material provided by either party.

There was an unexpected development earlier this week when Barnsley – as the club with most to lose if Latics were to win their case – applied to join in the arbitration.

They have been allowed to put in submissions, although they haven’t been allowed to be a ‘true party’.

The hearing will start at 9am on Friday, with both parties putting in skeleton arguments and summaries of their case, which the panel will already have read.

Witnesses on both sides will then give evidence in a conventional way, with the hearing scheduled to close by 6pm.

The Latics legal team, led by Mr Phillips, also includes Alistair McHenry, lead solicitor from Walker Morris, and junior barrister Kira King.

Although time is clearly of the essence - with the start of next season just over six weeks away - it could be the middle of next week before a decision is known.