Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - 'Maybe even the ghost of Benjamin Franklin will tune in to see our prophecy come to fruition'

Alan Rogers:

Well, we've done it. It's been painful to watch, but on Easter Monday we finally crawled over the safety line, ensuring League One football for next season. It's a bit early to write the end of season summary, so I'll leave the really gloomy stuff for another couple of weeks. This week I will try to concentrate on the positives from the last two games. Having said that - was there anything really positive from those games?

To be fair, perhaps there were maybe a few green shoots of hope for the future. Obviously our defence has been possibly the only bright spot of the season, and it seemed that once again that was the case against Shrewsbury and Rotherham. The back line has been consistent, and of course we have been lucky to have the services of such a great young goalkeeper.

It's going to be an interesting few weeks while we wait for the news about Sam Tickle's future. We'd obviously love him to stay but, in truth, he's too good for this division, and hopefully he could bring in some much-needed funds to rebuild the team.

I don't really like to single out individual players for praise or adverse criticism, but I believe that in recent weeks there have been a few players who have really stepped up. In addition to the 'regular' members of the defence who have performed so well.

Luke Robinson has really grown in the last few games. His enthusiasm and appetite for the game has shone through. Another player who has played a great part in the last couple of winning performances is Jon Mellish. Never stopped running and, if he can do the same next season, he could play a big part in the team rebuild.

Finally, Dale Taylor. Well, if he hadn't been playing this season, then we would have been in serious trouble. Having said all that, I feel the whole team has been putting the effort in but sadly, for various reasons, it simply hasn't been good enough. The last two games have given us a couple of much-needed wins, but not much else really.

On Monday we had a few more goal opportunities than Friday but, in truth, we never really felt as if the ball was going to end up in the back of the net. We simply do not look like a team that can score goals. Thankfully, we now have a few months to try to rectify the situation.

If we somehow manage to hold on to Taylor then Ryan Lowe needs to come up with a system that feeds the ball to him. However, it's probably more likely that Lowe will be forced to search for something that every team wants...a goal scorer.

Caddy from the 5:

If Carlsberg did Easter weekends, eh? Back-to-back wins for what seems like the first time since Jesus was a lad, and Horwich bottling promotion again, hahahahaha. The victory over Shrewsbury will live long in the memory - said no one ever - but a much improved performance against Rotherham saw the sexy Tics confirm their place in Division Three for another season along with Horwich...did I mention the self-confessed 'best team in the division' bottled even making the play-offs again?

You can see what Ryan Lowe wants his players doing, a far faster tempo than before, and in Maleace Asamoah Jnr we've a raw talent that's fitted straight into it. He's still rough around the edges, but there's defo a very good player in there.

We've got a nucleus of a good side, and the summer transfer window will hopefully see Mike Danson splash some cash, and hopefully make at least an assault on the play-offs. The season ticket prices went down well with the majority of the fans - you'll never please all - and the the green shoots of recovery across the whole club are starting to come through. Where we'll end up, I've not a clue, but it looks a lot rosier than it has done for a while that's for sure.

On a sad note, this week's funeral of Darren Orme rightly includes taking one last tour of the stadium before heading to the Parish Church. If you can get down and show your respects, I'm sure his family and the club would appreciate it. God bless you Darren, sleep well.

The final home game of the season on Saturday sees us play Blackpool, another team that - like us and Horwich - will be playing third tier football next season...did I mention, etc, etc! So let's hope the lads put on a show for one last hurrah at the WhelanDome and finish off with three points. Right, I'm off blasting the Ozone Bounce outside the Reebok with a few 'Bow...altogether now...DER DER DER DER DER DER DE...UP THE TICS!

Matt Auffrey:

One of the United States’ founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, famously once said: ‘In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ If Mr. Franklin was alive today, he would assuredly have to modify that quote to include ‘Latics bossing the month of April’ to his list of certainties.

Back-to-back 1-0 wins over Shrewsbury and Rotherham have extended our unbeaten run to five games, our clean sheet streak to 200 minutes and counting, and most importantly have guaranteed our status in the division for another season. However, the icing on the cake from Monday’s victory was a performance that saw us generate 16 total shots - eight of which were on target.

For a season where our play has often lacked ‘entertainment’ - especially at the Brick - Monday’s effort presented a welcomed change. Considering the performance was just 16 days removed from a hideous display at Leyton Orient, where we produced a single off-target shot over 90 minutes, the steady improvement we’ve shown over the past several matches should not go unmentioned.

We’ve achieved our primary objective for the season in maintaining our league status, but Ryan Lowe made it abundantly clear that he came to Wigan to not just survive this season but, more importantly, ‘climb the table’. With three matches remaining, it is still possible for the lads to climb from 15th position up to 11th by season’s end.

A top-half finish would be a worthy consolation prize for a side that has nearly spent the entire season in the bottom half of the league table, and more recently just above the relegation zone. On top of the positive shift in our results, many individual players have flourished after Lowe has given them a consistent run of games.

Special mention should go to Baba Adeeko, Jensen Weir, Jon Mellish, and Luke Robinson - a quartet who have largely struggled for game time over the past several months, but who have rewarded the gaffer with a recent string of stellar performances as new additions to the starting XI.

While there is still a dire need to improve our quality in a number of key positions over the off-season, our recent efforts have demonstrated we may not be as far away from playing consistently winning football as we thought we were not too long ago.

From second-placed Wrexham to already-relegated Shrewsbury, we’ve been given a clear glimpse of how the massive gap in the league table is not necessarily indicative of an identical gap in quality between teams on the pitch. Point being, adding a handful of capable players to supplement this current group could just as easily make this team a contender next season compared to flipping the squad upside-down and starting from scratch.

We wrap up the 2024/25 home campaign with a tasty visit from Blackpool, who were pushing hard for the play-off places over the past several weeks until a loss to Wrexham on Monday all but killed their chances. They’ll bring a handful of familiar faces in Ashley Fletcher and Lee Evans, and hopefully a healthy away crowd despite their recent dip in form.

The pressure on the lads has simmered down, but the expectations have risen. Sending the home fans off for the summer with three points is the best ‘thank you’ gift that this group could offer. We are nowhere near where we wanted to be, relative to our goals at the start of the season, but we are currently trending in the right direction.

Ending the season with five straight wins would not only make for happy fans, but it would also be a very ‘Wigan’ way to end a season as well. Let’s keep the football ‘electric’ , and who knows, maybe even the ghost of Benjamin Franklin will tune in to see our prophecy come to fruition.

Martin Lally:

'Tis the season to eat chocolate and be merry and all that, and let’s be honest...what is better than a six-point haul from the Tics? Something not seen for many a year, as our Easters are usually underwhelming to say the least. I managed to get along to both games, and it's worth saying that our 100 per cent record of arriving at grounds late remains in situ thanks to the catastrophe of the M6/M56 on a Bank Holiday Weekend.

This got me to thinking about Saturday, September 5, 2015, when I totally misjudged the distance from Wigan to Chesterfield, arriving 10 minutes late only to find us 0-2 down after 68 minutes and re-evaluating my life choices. Of course, goals from Leon Barnett (second of the day), a Craig Davies penalty, and the winner from Jordy Hiwula sent the Tics home happy...how is that game almost 10 years old?

So thinking on reflection about the Shrewsbury game, it felt like two teams in the exact positions that they are. After we scored, I felt we were going to concede, but the boys did brilliantly to hold on. The goal was well worked and definitely a cross for me by Maleace Asamoah Jr, whose calmness as he broke into the penalty area again placed more stock in his value.

It was, of course, finished superbly by player of the year (in my opinion) Dale Taylor. Tragically, I just can’t see him being a Tic next year, if you look at where he would likely be in terms of current League One market value (unless we got another kind loan from Nottingham Forest).

The journey back was much smoother than journey down, and a well deserved Red Bull/M & M Easter bunny to celebrate...rock and roll lifestyle, other brands available. I was confident going into Monday, and it was ironic how Reece James started for Rotherham, having also started for Wigan in the previously mentioned great away day at Chesterfield.

If I’m being honest, I thought we were excellent on the day, and limited a Rotherham team that had scored three goals on Good Friday to very little. I did, of course, worry at the sight of Jonson Clarke-Harris arriving, and if we are honest, he missed a sitter, the only time in 95 minutes we looked vulnerable at the back.

Jensen Weir and Baba Adeeka were outstanding, and I do feel for Jon Mellish, because the heart he puts into that 'false 10' role is fantastic, he just doesn’t have that final bit of ‘No.10’ quality that for me seems to be the missing piece.

On the day we were outstanding to a man, fully deserving of three points, and I don’t know what drink the Rotherham manager was on - after reading his post-match comments - but I wouldn’t mind a pint of it! Three to go, safety secured, was it ever really in doubt? I did fancy the Easter break would make or break our season, but the future looks brighter by the day under Ryan Lowe, who continues to impress me with every press conference.

Enjoy the rest of your Easter eggs, Tics, we get to go to Horwich again next year...how is that play-off picture looking?

Lowey (not the manager):

Well it was a happy Easter with two 1-0 wins to guarantee us League One football next season - was it really in any doubt? The reason we will be playing at this level is undoubtedly due to our superb defence, with the back three and goalkeeper having been great all season, recently joined by Luke Robinson, who has been a revelation.

Since Ryan Lowe’s arrival, there is also a more attacking intent, and we've started to create chances in games...the next step is to start taking them. The midfield three have a good balance, and without doubt all of them have improved game by game.

Owen Dale has become the latest in our long list of scapegoats but, while he hasn’t quite lived up to his debut against Fulham, he adds good balance and works hard and one of the key figures in our recent form. If he's the new level of what we can abuse then we’re doing okay.

The strike force of Dale Taylor and Maleace Asamoah Jnr seem to be linking better each game, but both are frustrating in the penalty box. Asamoah is raw and has potential to get better. He certainly excites the crowd, and we’ve been desperate for a player of that ilk.

Unpopular opinion but, while Tayler has undoubtedly had a great season and debatably been the only successful loan, he still has his shortfalls and isn’t a great poacher, so perhaps that gives us a chance of obtaining his services for another year?

Under Lowe’s coaching he may well develop that final piece in his jigsaw to help him play at a highest level. Enjoy the final few games, and hope the FA see past there ridiculous pettiness that stops Lowe from doing his lap of appreciation due to his touchline ban.