Preston North End must prepare for Wigan Athletic in must-win Championship match

The Latics are currently the bottom side in the league, that despite coming into this season on the crest of a wave having won League One last campaign.

They are a club that have had the sympathies of many football fans over recent years as they were plunged into administration following mismanagement from an irresponsible owner, which they could do nothing about.

Wigan fell from 13th in the Championship with stars such as Kieffer Moore, Antonee Robinson and Joe Gelhardt – who are all now Premier League players – to only just surviving in League One.

Still, they won the division the following year and are now looking to restore and establish themselves once again as a Championship club.

The man who was in charge during their unceremonious fall and remarkable rise, Leam Richardson, now has a stand named after him at the DW Stadium, in part due to saving striker Charlie Wyke’s life administering CPR after a cardiac arrest, but he was sacked in November, two weeks after signing a new three-year-deal.

In came Kolo Toure but after no wins in nine games, the former Arsenal invincible was also relieved of his duties, paving the way for Shaun Maloney’s appointment.

Like Richardson, Maloney is a Wigan legend. His corner was headed into the back of the net by Ben Watson to win the Latics the FA Cup in 2013.

He’s a highly rated young coach, with a bit of pedigree to match. He’s spent much of his coaching career as the no.2 to Roberto Martinez at the Belgian national team, with the Red Devils rising to no.1 one in the world during their tenure.

Wigan’s statement appointing the 40-year-old Scot read: “After time spent obtaining a Masters in Coaching at the Johan Cruyff Institute, as well as a spell in charge of Hibernian in Scotland last year, Maloney has utilised the period before returning to Latics by visiting a number of clubs across Europe.

“The former Scotland international paid visits to the likes of FC Barcelona and AS Monaco, as well as teams in this country, to gain a deeper understanding of methods and structures used across all levels of football ahead of taking the step back into management.”

He’s so far won one and drawn three of his four games and will be looking to players such as Will Keane, Ashley Fletcher and Callum Lang to do the damage this weekend.

Keane, a former PNE loanee, is the Latics top scorer so far this season with 10 goals – their next best has only two. Lang is an exciting winger that netted 15 times last season but hasn’t quite been able to replicate that form so far this campaign. Fletcher on the other hand is the man leading the line, with Keane generally playing in behind him, but he has also failed to find the target with regular consistency.

Latics, unsurprisingly, travel better than when playing at home, ranking 14th in the division on the road. It gives North End something to worry about given their own poor home record but these are the types of games supporters will certain expect them to be winning, and not doing will do nothing to get them back on side.