At the end of a long, arduous season of European, cup and Championship football, can inspirational Wigan boss Uwe Rosler summon a final charge from his spirited troops?

Overview

Back in 2005, when Wigan Athletic were promoted into the Premier League, I was about to make the rather drastic decision of taking a job in Derby when I lived in Sheffield. This effectively condemned me to spending a minimum of three hours every day sitting in traffic on the M1 listening Liverpool and Manchester United being gently felated by "Chappers" and "Saggers" and "Mark Pougatch" on BBC Radio Five Live.

On the eve of Wigan's first tilt at the top flight — which began with a 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea, Hernan Crespo scored — the preview show came live from what was then called the JJB Stadium with Latics chairman Dave Whelan sitting on a panel of guests in front of a live audience of home fans.

The evening ran along a basic theme of "isn't this lovely, little old Wigan in the Premier League, who would have thought it?" and cutting questions included "are you looking forward to seeing Wayne Rooney playing in Wigan?" and "Are you looking forward to seeing Ryan Giggs playing in Wigan?" and "Are you looking forward to seeing Steven Gerrard playing in Wigan?" and so it went on, stopping only very occasionally for somebody to pat Dave Whelan on his shiny bald head, or laugh at one of his jokes.

Whelan stuck it for so long, and then said: "Actually, I'm really looking forward to seeing our new lad Henri Camara play, never mind Wayne Rooney". Thunderous applause.

He was right as well. Wigan were no whipping boys, and they stayed in the top flight for eight years.

The story of Wigan Athletic, only voted into the league at all in 1978, is remarkable. Their old Springfield Park ground had a stretch of grass between the sloping terrace behind the goal and there is footage of Sunderland fans using it as a mudslide during a game in the 1980s. The place is unrecognisable since then.

But this was no Wimbledon-style meteoric rise — this was one built on Whelan's millions. QPR fans will remember Wigan from Rangers' time in the Second Division as a big spending powerhouse of a club — sweeping aside the lower divisions with Jason Roberts and Nathan Ellington in attack. In the Premier League too they continued to spend — Emile Heskey cost £5.5m, Jason Koumas £5.3m, Antonio Valencia £5m, Charles N'Zogbia £6m. This wasn't the "quaint little Wigan" the lazy media made them out to be. Had Whelan arrived 15 years earlier they probably would have won the Premier League with that kind of spending — see Jack Walker at Blackburn.

But as the Oligarchs and Sheiks have arrived, and the Champions League money has polluted the upper end of the division, so the medium spenders like Whelan have become squeezed from the present day Premier League. A decade ago having Dave Whelan and Tony Fernandes as your owners would have been good enough to guarantee top half finishes — now everybody has a millionaire/billionaire owner and QPR and Wigan find themselves relying on a play-off to try and get back into the top flight at all. Given Roberto Martinez's performance at Everton, and previously at Swansea, it's possibly fair to say that Wigan's relegation last summer was several years overdue — they'd narrowly escaped in each of the previous three seasons despite the presence of an exceptional young manager.

So in some ways you fear for the future of Wigan as a Premier League club. If they go up this time can they match the spending to stay in? If they don't, will a cloth cutting exercise prevent them from returning any time in the near future? But then you look at the bottom half of that Premier League, and you watch teams like Norwich, Aston Villa, Stoke, Newcastle, Swansea and others this season, and you wonder if Wigan aren't a little bit better than them even now with their Championship squad? Is a top flight where 13 clubs are focused solely on getting to 40 points and seventeenth position really as difficult and high quality as we all make out? I've a Hull City team with Alex Bruce at its heart currently looking forward to a cup final and European football next season that says no.

What Whelan has been good at, with notable exceptions including Owen Coyle at the start of this season, is managerial appointments. His decision to bring in Uwe Rosler from Brentford has been inspired — a ten match wining run carried them into these play-offs when it looked well beyond them, with an FA Cup semi-final into the bargain.

Rosler was a risk. Yes he'd cut his teeth with three different jobs in Norway, recovering from a cancer scare in the process, and yes he not only knew the intricacies of the English game after a spell with Man City in the 1990s, but had also embraced the foreign culture. But his only previous managerial experience in this country was at Brentford, and while the Bees impressed last season and were desperately unfortunate to miss out on promotion in extraordinary circumstances against Doncaster on the final day of the season, and then against Yeovil in the play off final at Wembley, the Bees are set up for success. With Mark Warburton as director of football, former QPR man Mark Devlin as CEO and rich owner Mathew Benham providing shrewd financial backing it's a tight ship, geared to success. An ideal platform for Rosler basically, who may have faced a more robust examination at one of the lower league's man cash strapped, poorly run shit storms.

But Whelan knew what he wanted that Coyle wasn't providing. Speaking after that remarkable FA Cup quarter final win against Manchester City the chairman intimated that the team wasn't fit enough, disciplined enough, or hard working enough under the previous boss.

Whelan said: "It’s all down to Uwe. He makes them work, he makes them graft, he’s got them all fit. Uwe came across with an honest statement, an honest face, every question I asked him he had an answer for. I watched him at Brentford, he brought that club up, I thought we needed a disciplinarian who looks after the team but makes them graft and he’s done all of that."

Having spent http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/queensparkrangers/news/34937/time-catches- week's column talking about how Barnsley continue to labour under the misapprehension that trying to go toe to toe with the other Championship clubs in the transfer market is the way to succeed in the second tier despite their miniscule budget, and advocating a different strategy if they're ever to return, it seems churlish to sit here and cast doubt on Wigan because they can't go into the Premier League and throw millions of pounds at it.

Perhaps Wigan have found that 'Moneyball' alternative once in Martinez, and have now done so again in Rosler. Perhaps he's the key, to not only this play-off, but in Wigan's Premier League survival next season. We're 180 minutes away from the next clue.

Interview

A play-off semi final means we've gone for two Wigan fans for our preview this week, so we welcome back Josh Barton (no relation) who helped us out earlier in the year, and Gary Hudson who contacted us via The Twitter about something completely different and was immediately snared. Thanks to both for their time.

Wigan were in terrific form when we last met — ten wins from the previous 12 games — but have only won three of 11 since then going into this one. Why the decline in form? Will it make any difference in the play offs? How are Wigan playing at the moment?

GH: Since then Wigan have had a lot of games in a short time including a two hour FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal. In April Wigan played nine games and just prior to that we played yourselves and against local rivals Noblot (an apt anagram of Bolton). The Bolton match was all Wigan but both keepers were on top form in a hard tackling game. Jordi Gomez missed a penalty against Yeovil the weekend before and when we were awarded another in the dying seconds it was saved again - as ex keeper I prefer to say saved than missed unless it did miss. The two misses cost us some morale and four points.

I think the players had an eye on the FA Cup semi final against Arsenal and a possible second final in two years.

We then faced Leicester who wouldn't allow Martyn Waghorn to play as he was on loan but then sold him a couple of days after that draw. Next came Leeds, who we beat, and Millwall, who we lost to with a weakened side. We then beat the other promotion pushing side Reading easily and could have scored many more. We lost to Burnley who needed the win for promotion, and Blackpool who deserved it as Wigan tired. We did enough at Birmingham to secure play offs and then against Blackburn Uwe played mainly youngsters from the development squad with an eye on Friday resting most of the big guns. We didn't expect to win as the game had no relevance and the fans were treated to a great match with lots of goals and all celebrated afterwards.

JB: Its hard to criticise Rosler because he's taken us from the lower end of the table and got us into the play-offs, but his constant rotation of the team maybe has something to do with the consistency of our form. We've just seemed to lose that winning mentality in the league. I wouldn't think it would make a lot of difference though because if the likes of Shaun Maloney, Jordi Gomez and Callum McManaman are on form we could trouble most Premier League sides never mind Championship teams. It all depends, on the day, how we play so I'm not looking too much into our form.

Does all the European and cup football you've played this season give you an advantage — more experience — or does it hinder you — players tired — in this knockout? What's the general feeling?

JB: I suppose the European and cup football has made us a little more experienced because we have come up against some decent teams and also have beaten three Premier League teams (Including soon to be champions Man City away) on the way to the FA Cup semi-finals. Of course, on the other hand, the players are obviously going to be feeling the strain of playing a lot more games than anybody else in the league, which takes me back to my first point, where I mentioned Rosler likes to change it a lot to rest players.

GH: If Wigan had Uwe in charge instead of clueless Owen Coyle (the fans never liked him from the start because of the Noblot connection) Wigan could have done better. Uwe started his reign with a European match and little time to prepare. But personally progression in a cup we couldn't have won would have been nice for the fans but would have cost us the play offs.

Assess the job done by Uwe Rosler since he took over. What did he change from Owen Coyle?

GH: Since Uwe took over the club has been lifted. He is the best manager at Wigan for many years (probably since Paul Jewell). I know Roberto Martinez took the Latics to FA Cup glory but it was hardly a blistering Premier League campaign fighting relegation for three seasons. Uwe has changed the mindset of the fans and players. Many fans wanted someone they had heard of with Premier League experience like Ian Holloway but they soon changed their minds, when good football with great results started. When Uwe took over fans were hoping he would keep then away from relegation but soon started to believe that we could secure mid-table and then the fans dared to believe again, especially as we played tougher sides in the FA Cup (beating City again was a highlight).

JB: It would be easier to list what he has not changed. There has been a change in formation, style of play, work rate levels, training, I could go on forever... he's even made the players stay in a hotel before the game together so they all turn up in an organised professional manner. Owen Coyle wasn't liked from the word go due to his connections with our local rivals Bolton. He didn't last long, thank God, and Whelan doesn't wait around. I think even Uncle Dave will admit he was wrong with making that appointment.

Who are the main candidates for the Wigan Player of the Year award and why?

GH: Jordi Gomez received Player of the Year award (personally I think Callum McManaman should have got it) When Jordi received the award he barely smiled and we think he already has his eyes away from the club.

JB: The awards were presented last Friday and Jordi Gomez won the Player of the Year prize - deservedly so too. He's been an absolute joy to watch with his silky passing, through balls and his long range goals. He's the best in the world at winning free kicks, I wouldn't call him a cheat he just knows what he's doing. James McArthur, James Perch and Emmerson Boyce, have also had good consistent seasons. Also, the likes of Shaun Maloney and Ivan Ramis are back from very, very long injuries, so it'll give us an extra boost.

If Wigan do go up, are they well placed financially and on the pitch to make a decent fist of the Premier League next season or will it be a struggle?

JB: We are most defiantly well placed financially all due to Dave Whelan. There's a wage budget we don't go over, unlike QPR where the wage bill is ridiculous. We would have to find a decent striker for next season even if we didn't go up because we have lacked goals from the central striker position. We will always struggle to hold on to our best players with us being a small selling club.

GH: I think when we go up (sorry) we can get to mid-table. Dave Whelan is a shrewd businessman and has secured many players for little money. The parachute payment from Premier League of £30m is less than total cost of the side that beat City's £500m side in the FA cup (£25m cost). The morale is high, the fans are loyal and believe, and we will always have the underdog status on our side.

What are the consequences for the club if you don't go up?

GH: The club will be fine. The cup run and parachute payments mean it's stable financially. As I said, morale is high. If you offered the fans play-offs when Uwe took over they would have bitten your hands off.

JB: Some people say if you don't go straight back up after going down you will struggle to get up again for many years… I do tend to agree with that, this league being extremely difficult to get out of. All teams seem to be well drilled in this division and make it hard for us to play our passing game. We aren't a big club either so we would struggle to attract the players other clubs would. So it’s a massive opportunity for us.

What are the key strengths and weaknesses in this Wigan side? (We're not spying honestly).

JB: We press teams really high up the pitch and work hard, but we have the players to calm it down and not rush it when we are on the attack. I presume we will start with Maloney and McManaman on the wings so with those two there will be pace and trickery to run at the full backs - Maloney is fantastic with drifting in field with the ball. We play with wing backs also so there's a lot of width. We don't have an obvious goal scorer which is our biggest problem so we have to rely on our midfielders most of the time and even defenders popping up with goals from set pieces. Sometimes we get caught with the opposition getting behind our back line.

GH: Key strengths are the morale is high. The players are valued by the fans and vice versa. At Wigan you are a fan with a name not just a number.

Good luck for the future I hope to see QPR back where they belong, in top flight, (but just not this season unless you beat us).

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TacticalR added 10:43 - May 9 Thanks for your oppo report and to Gary and Josh. That's a good point that the money of a local businessman that once might have won the league is dwarfed by the seemingly infinite funds that can be marshalled by oil-rich states such as Qatar (UAE in the case of Manchester City). Since the time of Jack Walker the Premier League has changed from a national league to an international league. If you don't have the good fortune to have infinite funds you need some serious nous to survive in that league, and even then you can still get relegated. Interesting to hear that Jordi Gómez has won Player of the Year for Wigan. Fortunately for us he came on too late in the match at Loftus Road to change the game. Presumably Rosler was resting him.

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