IN FOCUS: WIGAN ATHLETIC

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With the new Sky Bet Championship season now approaching, we bring you the lowdown on all 23 of our league opponents

2022-07-26T08:00:00.000Z

IN FOCUS: WIGAN ATHLETIC

With the new Sky Bet Championship season now approaching, we bring you the lowdown on all 23 of our league opponents

2022-07-26T08:00:00.000Z

Ticket information for our trip to Wigan

The 9th youngest club in the Football League – and the youngest in the Championship this term – Wigan were formed in 1932.

Spending most of their history to date as a non-league outfit, the Latics became a Football League Club in 1978.

Promoted from the Fourth Division four years later, they would slowly climb the pyramid and eventually reach the Premier League in 2005.

Beaten in the 2006 League Cup final, Wigan remained a top flight side for eight years. In their final season as a Premier League club, the Latics won the FA Cup as Ben Watson’s header proved enough to beat Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley. This is their only major honour to date.

Relegated a few weeks after that triumph, Wigan played UEFA Europa League football as a Championship club, knocked out in the group stages. They also lost the Play-Off semi-final that season as well as being knocked out of the FA Cup by Arsenal on penalties.

Spells in League One have followed, partly due to financial woe which saw the club end up in administration. Last season however, the North West side managed to pip Rotherham United to the League One title, and were promoted back to the Championship.

Stadium: DW Stadium (25,138) – 15 Loire Drive, Robin Park Road, Wigan, WN5 0UH

Nickname(s): The Latics

Manager: Leam Richardson

2021/22 Finishing Position: 1st in League One (Promoted)

2021/22 Top Scorer: Will Keane (26)

Notable Connections: Latics captain Tendayi Darikwa is a former Claret, spending two seasons at Turf Moor and playing his part with 15 appearances as we won the 2015/16 Championship title, being promoted to the Premier League in the process.

Scoring once across those two campaigns, full back Darikwa moved onto Nottingham Forest before joining Wigan in 2020. He played in all bar three of their League One games last season.

Elsewhere, former Clarets midfielder Paul Cook both played for and managed the Latics. First playing 83 league games in a four-year spell at the start of his career, Cook was also loaned back to Wigan from Turf Moor in 2001.

Including a loan with Burnley prior to signing permanently, Cook made 169 appearances as a Claret across five seasons. The 55-year-old – who is now Chesterfield’s manager – would go on to spend three years at Wigan’s helm.

He won the League One title with them in 2017/18, but resigned in 2020 amidst financial issues which had seen the club relegated down to the third tier once more despite achieving a mid-table Championship finish due to a heavy points deduction.

Others to have played for both clubs include Graham Lancashire, Mike Pollitt and current U23s assistant manager Andy Farrell.

Last Time We Met: Most recently, the two clubs met in a pre-season friendly at the DW Stadium back in July 2019.

Jay Rodriguez and Dwight McNeil both netted within the opening 10 minutes, though after a goal from a trialist to halve the deficit, Wigan levelled things up midway through the second half via Joe Geldhart.

The pair’s last league meeting though will bring happier memories to all of a Clarets persuasion, a 2-0 win at Turf Moor in April 2014 sealing promotion to the Premier League. Ashley Barnes and Michael Kightly were the Burnley goalscorers that afternoon.

Full Record (All Competitions): P: 23 - W: 3, D: 8, L: 12

Fixtures in the 2022/23 season: 11.03.23 (H – Turf Moor) / 27.08.22 (A – DW Stadium)