Wigan Athletic old boy will be 'great addition' to Academy

The 41-year-old Scot rejoins Latics from Fleetwood Town, ad his main responsibility as PDP Lead will be to oversee Latics’ Under-21s squad.

“We are really pleased to have Stephen on board with us," said Rioch. "I’d like to thank Fleetwood Town for accommodating the process and allowing us to bring him in a little sooner than first expected.

“Stephen is an outstanding coach who has been doing the same role at Fleetwood Town for a number of years.

"He arrives with a proven record of developing young players and coaching them in a way that we hope will get them ready for first-team football.

“It always excites me when we are able to bring a former Latics player back to the Football Club, and we believe that Stephen will be a great addition to our coaching team at the 3PL Wigan Athletic Academy.”

Crainey spent one year with Latics, the hugely eventful 2013-14 campaign under Owen Coyle and then Uwe Rosler.

After hanging up his boots in 2016, Crainey began his coaching career with Fleetwood in their Academy system.

He worked with the Under-23s over the last four seasons, and took charge of the first team last term following the departure of Simon Grayson in November 2021.

Crainey picked up 26 points during his 29-game stint at the helm, helping the Cod Army secure their League One status on the final day of the season.