Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - ‘What sounded like a fantasy has become a reality’

Matt Auffrey:

Latics were down 1-0 on a Tuesday night in South London. Two mid-table sides had just played a very forgettable first half of football with the only notable highlight being a 19th-minute Charlie Hughes own goal. Latics had created very little in their attacking third during the first 45 minutes of play. There was a growing feeling that even with seven halves of football still to play, the 23/24 season could not come to an end soon enough. Just when there was every reason to doubt our ambitions for the remainder of this campaign, the lads worked their magic to the tune of two goals within a five-minute span. Latics held a late lead away from home against a side that was unbeaten in their last 11 matches. It was clear and obvious that we were watching a team that was playing to win.

Charlton would go on to secure a well-deserved equaliser and the match would finish as a 2-2 draw. The result marked our fourth consecutive match without a win. Yet, the doom and gloom that had slowly built itself up following our return from the international break had started to simmer down. We learned that Shaun Maloney just made it to The Valley with minutes to spare ahead of Tuesday night’s kickoff after he and his wife just welcomed the birth of their daughter. The 90-minute effort showed that we are anything but a team that has shipped it in for the season. When the dust settled and the league’s midweek fixtures had concluded, we learned that Latics were officially mathematically safe from relegation. The achievement may not deserve an exuberant celebration, but it certainly deserves its fair share of recognition.

There was no guarantee eight months ago that this team would make light work of its eight-point deduction and fight its way out of the bottom four before the season’s midpoint. It was not a given that Latics would work their way into the division’s midtable places and enjoy a relatively comfortable final few months of the season. There were a handful of exceptionally triumphant victories along the way as there were plenty of disappointing defeats. In the end, our entire body of work far exceeded the impact of any individual result this season - from our season-opening win at Derby to our recent hard-fought point at Charlton.

This Saturday’s trip to Lincoln gives us another opportunity to raise our game against a very strong side that is playing for their play-off livelihood. The Imps haven’t lost a match since New Year’s Day at Blackpool, which gives them the longest current unbeaten streak in the division. Latics have been written off going into similar matches on many occasions this season, only to end up battling their way to a positive result. Tuesday night’s performance showed that an early setback won’t stop this team from finding their groove later in the match. Three matches remain and the stakes could not be lower. I still expect this team to compete in the same manner that it has done all season. Up the 'finally safe' Tics!

Charlie Keegan:

270 minutes of League One football remains this season, with just three games left to fight for the nine points on offer. Is there still a fight in this team though? Despite not winning a game since March 16th, a run of three draws and one loss, I would say the second half against Charlton proved that we still have something about us.

Charlie Kelman, for example, has mentioned that he has one eye on the Olympics this summer, and his brace at The Valley has given him something credible to build on for the little time that is left. Sean Clare also showed glimpses of being back to his best, and throughout the game looked to have a determination to get Latics up the field. His performance was capped off with a delightful assist for Kelman’s second.

At this point in the season, and with the circumstances that Wigan Athletic find themselves in, I feel it was inevitable that an element of burnout would kick in at some point. Thankfully, the burnout has kicked in once all our targets were met and we aren’t anywhere having to deal with a relegation battle. The ‘42% of all minutes this season have been for the academy players’ stat has been mentioned heavily over the last few weeks, and whilst I figured it would be somewhere in the region of that number anyway, it still amazes me just how well our young academy graduates have done to this point.

This generation of youngsters need all the encouragement we can give them in order to help them settle and feel confident in their abilities. They have the talent, and I am glad that they have another season at League One level to settle into their second professional season together. For the most part, players can afford to take more risks and make more mistakes at this level without being caught out too heavily. If we had to rely on our academy graduates for 42% of all minutes in a Championship season then I would worry a bit more.

These final three games mean we are extremely close to the Summer Transfer Window opening, and I have no doubts that clubs will be enquiring about potential deals for our youngsters. Whilst I can imagine some clubs might be an attractive destination, I really feel that it isn’t the time yet for our youngsters to take the jump. Yes, Sam Tickle and Charlie Hughes have shown great abilities and impressed beyond expectation, however, goalkeepers and centre-backs don’t really enter their best years until mid-to-late 20s and so they have time to develop their craft further at this level before taking the next challenge. Tickle is just about to complete his first professional season, and Hughes is just about to complete his first full professional season. They have time and I hope they take onboard Gregor Rioch’s comments at the last Fans Forum about being smart when it comes to making such big decisions.

No matter what happens in these final three games, I am extremely proud of what Shaun Maloney, the coaches, the club staff, and the players have achieved this season. I remember an old video that Latics produced called ‘Defying the Odds: It’s in our DNA’, and we have done that yet again. At the start of the season, if you told me that we were on-course to finish mid-table having been able to step off the gas with several games to go, I would have pointed to the -8 and said. “Are you thinking straight??”. But what sounded like a fantasy has become a reality, and we have our solid foundation now to build on for next season.

Let’s not worry too much about what Mike Danson’s plans or conversations with Maloney are, as that will all come to light soon and I have a feeling we will be pleasantly surprised. As always, Up the Tics.

Ed Bazeley:

A 0-0 draw with Port Vale on Saturday, and a 2-2 draw with Charlton on Tuesday may have shown that there is some resilience in a Wigan side who have somewhat bounced back from the setback of the disappointing 3-1 defeat to Cambridge United on Easter Monday.

However, draws with a side desperately scrambling against relegation, and a fellow mid-table outfit are far from the strong finish to the season that Latics should be striving for.

The fact that we started the season on -8 points, and have been comfortably safe since mid-March is thoroughly impressive.

But it would be a shame to see a relatively strong campaign fizzle out, and the players' efforts throughout the season deserve a top-half finish.

But unless we can secure our first win since March 16th on Saturday, then it appears such an achievement would slip away from Latics' grasp.

However, on Saturday, Shaun Maloney's men travel to a Lincoln City side who haven't lost since New Year's Day, so it will be tough to get any sort of result from Sincil Bank.

But one of the more impressive qualities of Latics this season has been our ability to defeat some of the best teams in this division, such as Derby, as well as doing the double over Peterborough and our rivals Bolton.

The result at Peterborough back in February is one which Maloney and Co can take inspiration from heading into Saturday, as before losing to us on February 3rd, Posh had not lost a game since a trip to Wigan Athletic in November!

In terms of personnel, we have seen a few changes in the matchday squad in recent weeks, and we are presumably set to see more.

Personally, I would like to see young forward Chris Sze given more first team minutes, because although Charlie Kelman did well to score a brace on Tuesday, it would surely be better to help develop Sze's game than Kelman's as the latter is on loan from QPR.

Unless we are considering going back in for Kelman during the transfer window, it would be nice to see Sze given the nod despite Kelman's recent goal-getting exploits.