Wigan Athletic

Callum McManaman needed to score at Wembley. He needed a big performance in Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal against Millwall. He needed something else by which to define his play, his season, himself.

And so, with Wigan 1-0 up on The Lions as the 80th minute approached, the winger made an instinctive run through the opposition defense, accepted a superb Jordi Gomez through ball, rounded goalkeeper David Forde and sealed the Latics’ progression to next month’s final with the cool, professional finish of an attacker well beyond his 21 years.

It was the sort of goal, the sort of occasion, that McManaman could use as a springboard to launch a fruitful career in professional football. And if it happens, no one will be happier and feel more vindicated than Roberto Martinez.

Just about a month ago, following a Premier League encounter with Newcastle at DW Stadium, the Wigan manager leaped to McManaman’s defense after the former England U-20 international’s horror tackle on Magpies left-back Massadio Haidara completely overshadowed an important 2-1 win.

With both players racing for a loose ball, McManaman caught the Frenchman with a high, dangerous boot that in more unlucky circumstances could well have shattered the 20-year-old’s shin.

While McManaman escaped certain ejection on the play (he wasn’t even booked), the Football Association felt the incident was serious, and embarrassing, enough to demote referee Mark Malsey to League One the following weekend.

Martinez, meanwhile, offered himself as a buffer between his player and the press, telling reporters McManaman wasn’t “that sort of boy” and that there had been no intent to injure Haidara.

“Remember it’s Callum’s full debut in the Premier League,” he said (per Sky Sports), adding, “I can guarantee that Callum McManaman is a young man full of talent and in his debut today probably showed the enthusiasm that you expect, but he’s not a malicious player.”

Platitudes all, which is why it was so important for McManaman to repay Martinez with an exceptional showing against Millwall.

He delivered, and in doing so provided a potentially defining moment that will go a long way towards rebuilding a reputation that got off to the worst possible start.

“Today we saw the real Callum McManaman,” said Martinez following Saturday’s semifinal (per BBC Sport). “It’s great to see that it’s now all about his talent...He seems like he’s been playing at Wembley many, many times.”

And he will at least once more, when Wigan face Manchester City on May 11 in the FA Cup final.

Another showing like the one against Millwall and McManaman will well and truly have laid the groundwork for a reputation rebuild that, unfortunately for all involved, came ever so early.

GIFs courtesy of gifsoup.com.

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In the three full seasons that Roberto Martinez has completed as manager of Wigan Athletic, his side have looked certainties to be relegated before staging a miraculous recovery at the end of the season to maintain their Premier League status.

In recent weeks Wigan, led ably by Martinez have found a rich vein of form that has given them an excellent chance of staying up and progressing to the semi finals of the FA Cup where they will face Championship side Millwall.

However, despite their recent good form, I believe that this will be the season that Wigan, and Martinez, succumb to the Championship. To a certain extent they have been victims of their own success.

Their run in the FA Cup will not have helped but Martinez must be admired for attacking the competition and trying to bring a trophy to Wigan. They should progress to the final which would arguably be the greatest achievement in the club's history.

The main thing that causes me to worry for Wigan is their fixture list. Every single game they have in the league is a tough fixture. Over the next two months they face:

Man City (away), West Ham (away), Tottenham (home), West Brom (away), Swansea (home), Arsenal (away) and Aston Villa (home).

If they could get to their last home game of the season against relegation rivals Aston Villa with a chance of still staying up they would probably take that.

If Wigan did go down, Martinez would have a choice to make. Over the past few seasons he has been heavily linked with other clubs but has always stayed loyal to Wigan. If he dropped out of the Premier League his job would still be safe, but he may feel it is time to move on.

However, I don't think Martinez would want to leave after a relegation. He would want to get Wigan back up to the Premier League and would be able to keep most of his squad together. If they get to the Cup Final they may have a European campaign to think about which Martinez would undoubtedly relish.

Whatever does happen, Martinez clearly has his work cut out between now and the end of the season.

Shaun Maloneys's last minute free-kick saved a point for Wigan Athletic, and at the same time broke the hearts of all Queen's Park Rangers fans.

QPR boss Harry Redknapp said to BBC Sport that the goal was the "cruelest last kick" he had experienced in football and it leaves the R's with only the slimmest chances of avoiding the drop.

As for Wigan, manager Roberto Martinez will see the draw (1-1) at Loftus Road as a missed opportunity to take all three points that would have moved them clear of the relegation zone.

After Bobby Zamora's red card midway through the first half, Latics had the majority of the match to break the retreating defense but failed to capitalize.

With few clear-cut chances created, set pieces looked the best bet for any side to score, and ironically, it was Wigan's free-kick that led to a breakaway attack that Loic Remy finished off with a stunning strike.

I thought Latics had blown it at that point, but they persisted and Maloney's almost last kick of the game salvaged what could turn out to be a vital point.

Martinez told BBC Sport that Maloney's goal "is as good as you're going to see; a real touch of magic."

In a previous article I alluded to the importance of Arouna Kone's goals, but Maloney is also one of Wigan's key players and his presence will be integral to the team in the remaining few fixtures.

The diminutive Scottish midfielder is arguably the one player Wigan possesses that can create that one bit of magic, be it a cutting through ball, a cute pass in the penalty box or as proved on his last outing, a wonderful free-kick under huge pressure.

Last season showed glimpses of his ability, especially in the amazing run they had towards the end.  Maloney scored a crucial winner against Manchester United and was also influential with his assists.

Maloney has chipped in five goals in the EPL this season (equal second best with striker Franco Di Santo) and his goals often prove to be crucial.

Although none of the Wigan team performed to their best against QPR in contrast to how they have played in their last three winning displays, Maloney was still able to produce one piece of magic.

Latics have seven league fixtures remaining, and along with Kone, Maloney will surely be one of the first names on Martinez's team sheets.

After Latics aim to reach the FA Cup Final by overcoming Millwall on April 13th, they return to the EPL against Manchester City a few days later with not many people fancying their chances of a win against the reigning champions.

Assuming that Latics remain at 31 points by the time they travel to Upton Park to face West Ham, Wigan will be relying heavily on the likes of Maloney and Kone to gain an important win in their quest to defy the odds once again.

Latics currently languish in the relegation zone in 18th position, but only on goal difference.  If they were to take anything from the Etihad (and stranger things have happened), they would leapfrog Sunderland.

With Newcastle's late winner at the weekend putting them at 36 points and nearing survival, Latics will be in a fight with the four teams directly above them: Sunderland, Aston Villa, Stoke and Norwich.

It looks as though OPR, along with Reading, are down and we could be looking at any one of five teams joining them. 

After two points dropped at QPR, do you think Wigan will fail in their latest amazing escape attempt?

Although it's their eighth successive season in the top flight, Wigan's presence amongst the gilded elite is still regarded as something of an aberration. Perennial underdogs and great escape artists usually engender goodwill from the neutrals but the response to Roberto Martinez's side tends towards the hostile.

As a hotbed of Rugby League the town is seen as apathetic towards its football team. An average crowd of 18,997 so far this season is certainly low, ahead of only QPR, whose ground is significantly smaller than Wigan's. That they should prosper while traditional powerhouses like Leeds United, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday continue to struggle is unforgivable in the eyes of some.

This preference for time-honoured hierarchy over eager, young upstarts is sad, if hardly surprising. Football seeks comfort in old truisms and Wigan have reveled in upsetting those odds. Formed in 1932, they lack the mythology associated with the big clubs they have routinely biffed since their arrival in the Premier League.

Their rapid ascent through the divisions has been funded by publicity-hungry local-boy-done-good Dave Whelan. His endless mugging for the media and decision to rename Wigan's ground the DW stadium is an understandable source of irritation, that he keeps them punching well above their weight rather less so.

Compared to the extravagant spending of Chelsea and Manchester City in particular, Whelan is a quaintly small-time sugar daddy. A flinty businessman investing in his team, it's an almost outdated concept in this age of grasping commercialism and global oligarchy. Accusations that their success is undeserved are made regardless.

The accounts show that Wigan continue to make a loss, like virtually everyone else. Yet they get by on one of the lowest wage budgets in the division, condemning more wasteful clubs to relegation each season. Their policy of buying young players from less fashionable leagues, giving them experience before selling on at a profit is admirable and effective.

Leighton Baines, Pascal Chimbonda, Antonio Valencia, Wilson Palacios and Victor Moses are just some to come through this system. It's an impressive list, demonstrating more considered scouting than many much better established teams. Working to a budget clearly has its advantages and it wouldn't be a surprise to see James McCarthy, Arouna Kone or Maynor Figueroa go for sizeable fees in the future.

Under Martinez, Wigan have also developed a reputation for attractive football, playing with three at the back and taking risks in possession. Where caution is the watchword for many under-resourced sides, this is a refreshing approach. It has been overplayed on occasion but is nevertheless another reason that they deserve a little more respect.

Having leapt out of the bottom three after Saturday's win over Norwich, and with a first ever FA Cup semifinal on the horizon, Wigan look set to keep more historically significant clubs in the shadows a while longer. Perhaps it's time we stopped regarding them as outsiders, a one-off novelty soon to return to their 'rightful' place.

Momentum is well and truly building as Wigan Athletic's late winner against Norwich City lifted them out of the relegation zone.

A late Arouna Koné strike gave Latics the three points in a deserved win and moved them ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference. Aston Villa play Liverpool later today.

With Stoke losing to Everton and Sunderland's defeat to title favourites Manchester United, the bottom of the EPL has become even more interesting.

The Black Cats' defeat cost Martin O'Neil his job, Sunderland are in free-fall, and a new man in charge may not necessarily be what they need to stop the rot.

Latics next face Queens Park Rangers in the league before an away trip to reigning champions Manchester City, knowing that a win at Loftus Road would all but eliminate Harry Redknapp's team from the equation.

Keeping Ivory Coast star Koné fit until the end of the season will be crucial, as his goals provide something that the teams around them do not have at the moment.

Koné scored his sixth goal in as many games and in his last two appearances, he has proven to be the match winner with his late finishes that have turned two points into six.

Manager Roberto Martinez will want to keep his star striker wrapped in cotton wool to make sure that he adds to his 10 EPL goals for the latter stages.

Sunderland have lost talisman Steven Fletcher for the rest of the season and having scored 11 in the EPL before injury, his goals will be sadly missed, leaving just Danny Graham as their main striker.

Stoke, who are currently on 34 points but have played a game more than Latics, are in an even worse situation in front of goal, having scored only three times in their last six fixtures.

The Potters' next five fixtures could make or break their season. They face Aston Villa, Norwich, QPR and Sunderland, all of whom are right in the thick of the relegation dogfight and if that weren't already enough concern for Stoke fans, they also welcome Sir Alex Ferguson's unstoppable force.

This week has seen the table take a massive twist, and what was looking like a two- or three-horse race has now become a battle royale with six or seven teams all jostling for position.

The small club from Wigan could once again repeat the great escape and although they have tough fixtures against the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham, just three wins out of their remaining eight could be enough to stay up.

Wigan are looking the best bet to avoid the drop purely based on the attacking threat they provide. Although they are inconsistent at times, they will always create problems for defenses.

As mentioned, Koné's goals are a huge plus and they now have Jordi Gomez coming into form as well as speed from the wing in Callum McManaman, who fortunately for Wigan avoided a ban after his controversial challenge on Newcastle United's Massadio Haidara.

Martinez highlighted that he was concerned for McManaman straight away after that incident but feels he can handle anything.

"He's had a very good development at the club. He's been out on loan and I think he's had enough experiences to know how to cope with anything the Premier League is going to throw at him," he told BBC Sport.

Showing goal-scoring form in the FA Cup has given his manager no choice but to include him in the EPL run-in. With his attacking ability, combined with Shaun Maloney, who is capable of popping up with a goal, Latics are not wholly relying on Koné.

Out of the bottom eight, only Newcastle (41 goals) have scored more goals than Wigan (36 goals) and this statistic alone could be the most important factor if Latics are to defy the odds yet again.

Another thing going for Latics is that they arguably have their best-ever squad during their time as a top-flight club with strength-in-depth and competition for places driving their players to perform well in every match.

Martinez told Wigan Evening Post that “Every position is for grabs."

“That’s why I feel the excitement around the place is so different, because everyone knows they absolutely have to be at their best. And at this stage of the season, the rewards are huge.

“Over the next seven weeks there will be moments that will be unique in a player’s career.”

A trip down to Loftus Road on April 7 is Latics' next stepping stone to survival and this time next week could see them in an even healthier position.

Wigan have just nine EPL fixtures to gain enough points to stay up, and despite remaining in the relegation zone over the international break it’s technically still in their own hands.

With all EPL teams on a temporary rest, it’s the perfect time for some players to recharge their batteries ahead of the frantic end-of-season fixtures.

Wigan’s Austrian defender, Paul Scharner believes the two weeks off that his team will have had after their 2-1 victory against Newcastle will give Latics the chance to be ready for their relegation scrap and possibly a place in the FA Cup final too.

Speaking to Wigan Evening Post Scharner said, “We have done our job up to the international break, and hopefully we will come back refreshed and ready to keep doing it until May.”

They next face Norwich in the league on Saturday 30 March and know that a win will take them out of the bottom three and move above Aston Villa at least for 24 hours.

Latics’ main rivals in their fight for survival are Villa and they play the next day against Liverpool who still remain in the hunt for a European place and will want to redeem themselves after a disappointing loss to Southampton in their last outing.

If things go Latics’ way then they will be level on points, ahead on goal difference and still have a game in hand and psychologically give them a massive boost.

Realistically, Wigan could reach the magical 40 points mark which is widely regarded as a safe amount to ensure another season in the top flight.

Victories in the next two EPL games at home to Norwich and away to Queens Park Rangers could be the most important of all as it would see Roberto Martinez’s men requiring seven points from their last seven fixtures.

In the process, a win at QPR could condemn Harry Redknapp’s men to concede any hope of clawing their way out of the drop zone and leave them thinking early about life in the Championship.

Latics supporters would see these games as a potential maximum point return which will be vital as they then face a daunting away trip to the Etihad against EPL champions Manchester City with most people giving Wigan no chance.

So where else can Wigan pick up at least seven more precious points?  After a likely defeat to Mancini’s boys, Latics travel to Upton Park to face West Ham who they beat 2-1 back in October.

Most Latics fans would view a draw as a good result and that point will leave Martinez requiring two wins to reach the 40-point milestone.

Ten years ago was the last time a side achieved more than 40 points and were relegated when West Ham acquired 42 points and ironically they could still be drawn into the survival battle should they lose to Wigan.

Wigan will be relying on title favourites Manchester United to do them a favour by taking all three points against Villa on the Monday before they face Tottenham Hotspur at the DW Stadium on 27 March.

This will be a tricky fixture as Spurs are chasing Champions League football again and will be right in the mix, so it will be a bonus for Wigan to secure even a point especially with the in-form Gareth Bale to contend with.

Expect by this stage that Martinez will need six points from his last four matches. They would have two away fixtures at West Brom and Arsenal and two at home against Swansea and Aston Villa in what could see them in yet another final day showdown.

West Brom are safe having secured 44 points already and still have an outside shot at European football. However, that is unlikely.

Latics could face a side that are content in their position, and therefore not playing in the mentality that every match is a "final," unlike Wigan who will have Martinez instilling this in his players. An opportunity for at least a point and perhaps a win is a definite possibility.

By the time they face Swansea at the DW a few days later, it could be a similar match as Swansea will probably have consolidated their position in mid-table.

Two teams with a similar playing philosophy will surely provide an entertaining game, but the home side will definitely be the more nervous. Three points will be a must, however, and that could see Wigan on 38, 39 or 40 points depending on their previous result.

A penultimate fixture away to Arsenal will be a tough ask to come away with anything, but fans can take hope that they won 2-1 at the Emirates in their amazing run of form last season.

So, presuming that Wigan will still require at least a point from their last game it looks very likely that when Paul Lambert’s Villa arrive in town the EPL will have a mouth-watering clash to decide who stays up and who goes down.

Wigan Athletic will be waiting nervously to see if Callum McManaman will be punished following his horror challenge on Newcastle United's Massadio Haïdara during Sunday's EPL encounter.

In a recent report by the Guardian it has been confirmed that the Football Association will review TV footage of the incident at the DW stadium that left Haïdara in agony and the possibility of missing the rest of the season.

Referee Mark Halsey's view was apparently impeded and as a result no on-field action took place, much to the fury of Newcastle boss Alan Pardew and his assistant manager John Carver, who berated McManaman at half-time.

The fact that the referee didn't take any action during the game (for which he apologised to Pardew), leaves the path open for the FA to review the lunging knee-high tackle and decide what, if any action there is to take.

Speaking after the game, Roberto Martinez put it down to 'youthful exuberance' and will hope the FA panel will not hand out a potential worst-case scenario of a three match ban.

Speaking on Twitter, and reported in the Metro, former Wigan player Ryan Taylor and current Newcastle defender vented his opinion on the dangerous challenge saying "it’s the definition of a ‘s***house tackle'."

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, talking to BBC Radio 5 Live, defended the striker; saying there is no malice in him and that these things happen in football.

Whelan famously had his leg broken in a similar tackle that ended his playing career prematurely in the 1960 FA Cup final while playing for Blackburn. 

A retrospective ban could cause huge problems for Roberto Martinez's team as McManaman has arguably been Latics' best player in the last few games and has certainly been one of the main catalysts for their astonishing FA Cup run.

He scored a crucial second goal against Everton, the team he was released from as a 16-year-old, to reach the semifinals of the competition for the first time in their history and was the star of the show in the quarterfinal one-sided match against Huddersfield, scoring one and assisting another.

McManaman's cup form led to Martinez handing him his first EPL start and he carried on where he left off, supplying the cross that led to Jean Beausejour's opener against the Toon.

Unfortunately, the dangerous tackle overshadowed what was a much-needed win for Latics who triumphed 2-1 thanks to a 90th minute winner from Kone, who scored his ninth EPL goal of the season.

McManaman was substituted in the second half, maybe to protect him from possible retaliation, but up to that point he had been a constant threat to Newcastle.

With Latics still in the relegation zone and three points from safety, the 21-year-old attacking midfielder will be needed and has emerged as a first-team player on the back of his good form.

He brings pace to the side, which is one of the things that Latics have struggled with this season.  His direct approach has caused defenders to panic and he has backed that up with a few goals in recent games. 

If he receives a potential three-game ban he would miss two league games as well as the FA cup semifinal; and Latics need all the firepower they can get if they are to pull off another miracle escape.

Martinez has recently been adopting a 3-4-3 formation and McManaman has fitted nicely into the front three attack which saw him accompany Arouna Kone and Shaun Maloney.

The former England under-20 starlet has the potential to step up and be the game changer in the same way that Victor Moses (now with Chelsea) and before that Charles N'Zogbia (now at Aston Villa) were able to conjure up sterling displays that helped Latics avoid the drop in the last two seasons.

For Wigan, it would be very disappointing to have McManaman's momentum stalled temporarily.  Having scored three times in cup competitions this season and with his confidence sky-high, he would have backed himself to get one or two in the EPL.

Wigan have nine EPL fixtures remaining and face the prospect of a final-game-of-the-season fight with fellow strugglers Aston Villa.

Martinez's men next face Norwich in the EPL after the international break and will look to record only their fourth home victory, followed a week later by a trip to Queens Park Rangers in another relegation battle.

If the Premier League were a dining-room table, then Manchester United, Chelsea and Man City would be the sterling silver utensils, bone china plates and spun glasses.

Wigan Athletic would be the place mats. 

Unfashionable yet indispensable, little Wigan is now a part of the Premier League furniture. If a place mat were not on the table, the table would be spoilt. For lovers of the plucky underdog, If Wigan were relegated from the top league, it too would be spoilt.

It is a familiar situation. Wigan are the archetypal brawlers, the backs-against-the-door merchants. Ever since they entered the Premier League in the 2005-06 season, Wigan have been on a wing and a prayer.

With one of the smallest operating budgets and the smallest average attendance in the division, their unfashionable squad should not still be there.

Avoiding relegation this season would secure a ninth successive Premier League season for a team who resided in the fourth tier as recently as 1995. 

Current Latics Chairman Dave Whelan took control of the club in '95 and was ridiculed for his vision of guiding the club into the Premier League. 

A succession of astute decisions and shrewd managerial appointments have achieved a reality that should not have been possible.

Time and again, Wigan have looked to be losing touch going into the business end of the season, only to conjure a spectacular revival and defy logic once more.

Whether they can do it again, however, is the £90 million question.

Wigan, currently residing in 18th position in the league, need to catch one of the teams above them to stay up. Currently three points behind 17th-place Aston Villa but with a game in hand, the task is onerous. 

To assess the Latics' chances you must analyze the contenders to replace them in the drop zone. A comparison of the remaining fixtures, combined with a summary of the quality, current form and morale of the squad should provide an abstract answer to the conundrum.

Then, of course, you have to factor in Wigan’s predictable unpredictability...

Of the remaining fixtures, QPR possibly has the most appealing run. With a plethora of teams scrapping around them still to play, The Hoops have no less than three "six-point games." Yet this is mitigated by QPR’s spectacular lack of form.

With the roster they possess, they should not be in this position, and although they have seen an improvement under Harry Redknapp, I cannot help but feel it is too little, too late.

The next easiest run in is Wigan’s own. With an extra game to play over their relegation rivals, Wigan have the luxury of knowing that survival is still essentially in their hands. With a host of winnable games against the likes of Norwich, Swansea, West Brom, QPR and Villa, their experience with the relegation fight could prove pivotal. 

Reading, following the illogical sacking of manager Brian McDermott this week, look doomed. With the hardest run in of the relegation contenders, including away days to Manchester United and Arsenal, a squad this short on confidence should be fodder. With McDermott, Reading may have stood a chance, but with such unnecessary upheaval so close to the end of the season, survival now would be a miracle. 

Dismissing the credentials of Reading and QPR, Wigan's fate hangs in the hands of either Southampton or Aston Villa.

Paul Lambert’s Villa side have been defined by their inconsistencies this season. With an unprecedented young squad, amazing away victories (notably at Liverpool) have been nullified by games of abject mediocrity. With a relatively hard run in, Aston Villa’s last-day fixture against Wigan looks like it might prove pivotal. 

Of the bottom five, Southampton have played the most consistently this season. Without a particularly decorated squad in the QPR mould, Southampton have worked with what they have to produce a number of scintillating performances, defined by last month's annihilation of Champions Manchester City.

A prediction is an incredibly vague litmus test of the reality. However, I have attempted in order to appease the masses:

They can do it on paper, but reality is far stranger than fiction.

Could this be Wigan’s year to go? Will you miss them? Quite frankly, do you even care?

Tell me what you think in the comments below.

While the stock of many Ivorian players is at an all-time low following their disappointing and thoroughly underwhelming exit at the hands of Nigeria in the recent Cup of Nations, one of their squad players looks to be on the up.

Arouna Kone has often failed to hold down a regular place with the Elephants, and in truth, it isn’t too much of a mystery as to why.

Didier Drogba has been the emphatic spectre of the side’s strikeforce, dwarfing the remaining stable of talent the national side can boast. His status as one of the world’s finest forwards, the honours earned individually and alongside his Chelsea teammates, as well as the stature he enjoys in his homeland, mean that ‘The Drog’ has always been the first name on the teamsheet.

This has left the rest scrabbling around for game time.

The Guardian quoted Kone Monday as saying that he didn’t feature in South Africa as much as he would have liked to, and indeed, this may be the striker’s international legacy, where he has often been on the periphery of Cote d’Ivoire’s disappointing decade.

However, while he might have been marginalised to the role of spectator for the Elephants, he appears to be almost single-handedly spearheading Wigan Athletic’s bid to retain their Premier League status for another season.

Far from a disinterested observer in the North West, Kone is relishing the responsibility heaped upon him, as well as the expectation that comes with being the figurehead striker of a side struggling near the danger zone.

This may be a new experience for Kone—previous stints at Levante and Sevilla have rarely brought the woes of a relegation dogfight—but the striker looks up for the challenge and is prospering under the pressure that accompanies Wigan’s plight.

Kone currently has 10 goals this season, eight of which have come in the Premier League; not bad for a forward in his maiden season in England.

Speaking to the Wigan website on his arrival at the club, the Ivorian was explicit in stating that Roberto Martinez’s progressive, attacking style of football coaxed him to the DW Stadium—indeed, the move could have been seen as a coup at the time, with clubs such as Spurs having been linked with the Ivorian towards the end of last season.

Martinez was quick to compliment Kone for the way he adapted to life in England, and the Spaniard will surely be delighted with the decisive finishing and incisive forward play which stands in stark contrast to previous Martinez signings Mauro Boselli and Franco Di Santo.

Crucially, the Anyama-born frontman appears to be hitting a purple patch just when the Latics need him most. With two goals in the decimation of Huddersfield and another brace in the side’s demolition of Reading in a crucial six-pointer, Kone could well emerge as the difference between an extended stay in the top division and a relegation which has often felt inevitable for a club punching above its weight.