Wigan Athletic boss won't 'ever forget this feeling' of relegation

Latics are still coming to terms with the disappointment of suffering an immediate return to League One.

While they haven't picked up enough points on the field to consolidate in the Championship, the off-field carnage - including three managers and four failures to pay the wages on time - has been a huge factor.

And as he tries to process a myriad of emotions, Maloney is determined the experience of this week will act as a motivating factor in the rebuild ahead.

"I don't think I'll ever forget this feeling...and I don't want to," he said.

"I had huge disappointments during my playing career, huge disappointments.

"And there'll come a moment where the feeling will change, and I'll have to use this in a positive way.

"It's been such an up and down few weeks - on and off the pitch - but I've loved every single minute of it.

"I know all of the talk will soon be what we're going to do next season.

"But a big part of my job - and I need the fans to understand this - will be to run this club in a responsible way.

"I'll make sure the decisions I make aren't just beneficial to me, but the next manager, and the one after that.

"The fans will always be here, it's their club, and we need to make sure there's always a club here for them to support."

The feeling of 'what might have been' is even worse given the three-point deduction Latics were hit with for the continued delay in paying the wages.

Only after Monday's visit of Rotherham will we discover how crucial that was in the final reckoning.

Maloney admits it's a feeling he doesn’t even want to think about.

"It's a really tough situation," he acknowledged. "Look, I know we've been relegated, and no-one's thinking about the Rotherham game at the moment.

"But I know once we get to that stage, we'll want to win that game, like any other.

"If it ends up being less than three points we go down by...we can't control that.

"I think it would have a different feeling...I have that feeling now...because if they weren't taken away, we'd still be in there fighting.

"But we can't control that, so I'll try not to think about it too, which might be hard in the next few days."

Whatever happens, Maloney has the full backing of the supporters, who once again chanted his name before, during and after the Reading game.

"They're always here for us, and they'll always be here for us in the future,” the Latics boss added.

"I get a bit emotional when I think about the support they've given us, and the connection they've all got with the players.

"That connection has always been strong with me, they know what type of person I am, and the work I put in.

"And they know I want to give them a football club with real stability.

"Look, I want to achieve as much as I can with this football club, back to the levels we were at when I played here.

"But the biggest thing is we need to do that in a responsible way, and the club has to know that has to be a priority.

"This has to be a really stable place for the staff, for the fans, and the players.

"I want to achieve so much with this club, but the fans need to know this club will be here a long time after I'm gone."