Wigan Athletic’s return to the Championship hasn’t quite panned out the way the Latics would have hoped for as they are languishing in the relegation zone at the moment alongside Blackburn Rovers and Rotherham United. They settled for a goalless stalemate against Nottingham Forest at the DW Stadium on Saturday, which means that after 34 league outings, the Latics have accumulated 31 points and are currently placed at the twenty-second spot on the league table. However, there are still truckloads of hope of their existence in the second tier of English football beyond this season.
Wigan Athletic took League One by storm last season, winning the third tier and eventually got themselves promoted. However, Gary Caldwell didn’t have the best of starts and was sacked in October after a series of stagnant performances, and was replaced by Manchester United Under 21 manager, Warren Joyce.
The Scot didn’t take long to put a stamp on his authority and the relegation-threatened outfit have been stringing some decent results under his tutelage and it seemingly appears as if he could very well be the man to keep Wigan Athletic afloat in the Championship at the end of the season.
The Tics were really busy on the deadline day of the January transfer window, making as many as eight new signings, including the high-profile signing of Gabriel Obertan who was released last month from the Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Courtesy of his contacts at the Old Trafford, Joyce brought centre-back, Alex Bruce, and midfielder, James Weir, in his first transfer window since taking over the charges of the club.
Amongst the other signings (mind you, as many as 13 players were lured to the DW Stadium in the January transfer window), striker Omar Bogle attracts a lot of attention and could very well be a vital cog in their attacking endeavours.
Wheels started to fall back on the track for Wigan Athletic as their new acquisitions are starting to find their feet and they have been helped in boosting their likelihood of not getting relegated by Bristol City and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ abject and erratic form. Frankly speaking, Wigan deserved much more than two draws, one win and a loss because of the grit they have put on the tray to make a late dash at survival.
The season is far from over and they indeed have a realistic chance of leaving a mark if their new signings reap dividends and also if they cultivate the sense of crossing the line and instilling confidence into the side. Apart from Newcastle United, their next five games are against beatable sides and thus, if they can register two or three favourable results, they could very well manage to escape from the dropout zone.
