Win for Leam - Wigan Athletic caretaker boss

Richardson was sacked on Thursday morning with Latics second-bottom in the Championship table, having picked up only four points from their last 10 matches.

He'll always remain a Latics legend, though, for staying with the club following administration in the summer of 2020, and guiding them to League One safety in his first season before winning the title the following year.

After saving the life of striker Charlie Wyke in November last year, Richardson even had a stand at the DW Stadium named after him.

All of which meant a real rollercoaster of emotions when his departure was confirmed - just 48 hours before what has now become one of the biggest games of the campaign.

"Obviously the mood in the group has been quiet - Leam's not just a fantastic manager who's done a great job here, he's also a wonderful human being, a really good person," said Kelly, Richardson's assistant, who has been handed temporary charge.

"He's respected and liked by every single person at this football club, and everybody's disappointed he's not going to be taking the team on Saturday.

"There's been good times, there's been difficult times, but the best thing we can do is try to continue all the good work he's done.

"Under Leam, we always had a plan going forward, and we were always really confident that come next May, the club would be where it needs to be, which is starting to stabilise as a Championship club.

"I certainly don't want to be in this position given the circumstances, but you've just got to get on with it.

"All you can do is try to affect the things you can affect, which is getting the group together and getting them ready for Blackpool."

Kelly says he's tried to keep things as normal as possible behind the scenes.

"Sometimes, even in the most difficult of situations, people just want normality," he added.

"We've tried to be as normal as possible, which is difficult because the leader of the group isn't there anymore.”