THE date was October 16, 2001, and Paul Jewell had sunk as low as he could go with Wigan. Bottom of the old Second Division, the Latics were hammered 5-1 at Wrexham in an LDV Vans Trophy Northern Section first-round tie in front of just 1,550 fans.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce will give some of his fringe players a chance to impress in tomorrow’s FA Cup clash at Sunderland.

Emile Heskey is expected to face former club Liverpool as Wigan attempt to haul themselves out of the relegation zone by winning at Anfield for the first time.

STEVE BRUCE was left cursing the name of Gabriel Agbonlahor for the second time this season as Wigan’s recent revival was brought to a grinding halt in the JJB Stadium mud.

Manager Steve Bruce rates Emile Heskey “touch and go” for Wigan’s Premier League encounter with Aston Villa at the JJB Stadium.

NEWCASTLE boss Sam Allardyce had every sympathy with the fans who slated his side at the end of another miserable performance.

Wigan defender Mario Melchiot is available for the Barclays Premier League match against Newcastle on St Stephen's Day after serving a suspension.

FULHAM chairman Mohamed Al Fayed begins his search for a new manager this week knowing it is vital he finds a man to bring stability to west London.

Striker Emile Heskey could be a surprise inclusion in Wigan’s squad for their crucial Barclays Premier League game at fellow strugglers Fulham.

RECEIVED wisdom suggests that a steady diet of hard-fought, narrow 1-0 victories offers the best chance of Premier League survival.

Wigan 5 Blackburn 3

IT has not taken long for Steve Bruce’s honeymoon at Wigan to come to a shuddering halt.

Bolton 4 Wigan 1

Wigan will be without captain Mario Melchiot for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League clash at Bolton as the defender starts a three-game ban.

CHRIS KIRKLAND has given his backing to calamity defender Titus Bramble, despite the defender’s catastrophic blunder against Manchester City.

England striker Emile Heskey is pushing for a starting place against Manchester City tomorrow at JJB Stadium after featuring as a substitute against Arsenal last week.

Emile Heskey is set to mark the first game of the Steve Bruce era by returning to the squad for the first time since September as the Latics head to Arsenal.

The scale of Spurs’ success must be measured against the shortcomings of their opponents, however, as Wigan looked every inch a doomed side with seven straight losses.

Wigan are set to name an unchanged line-up for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Tottenham despite the sacking of Chris Hutchings earlier this week.

AVRAM GRANT is allowing his Chelsea team to do all the talking for him as they continue to strut the Premier League stage like potential champions.

Chelsea failed to hit the heights of last week’s 6-0 thrashing of Manchester City against strugglers Wigan at the JJB, but two fine first-half goals were enough to put them back in the Barclays Premier League hunt.

Two delightful first-half goals from Chelsea, inspired by Shaun Wright-Phillips and finished by Frank Lampard and Juliano Belletti, were enough to see Chelsea past struggling Wigan at the JJB Stadium.

Wigan manager Chris Hutchings has an almost full strength squad to choose from for their home clash against Chelsea with Mario Melchiot, Denny Landzaat, Antonio Valencia and Antoine Sibierski all having made a successful return from injury.

CAMERON JEROME insisted Steve Bruce must remain as Birmingham manager if Carson Yeung completes his protracted takeover of the club.

Wigan are hopeful Mario Melchiot will be fit to face Birmingham at St Andrews tomorrow after receiving intensive treatment on a thigh muscle injury.

HARRY REDKNAPP has tipped Benjani Mwaruwari to become a Fratton Park cult hero after he raced to the top of the Premier League scoring charts at the expense of struggling Wigan.

Wigan midfielder Jason Koumas is in a race against time to be fit for tomorrow’s home clash against Portsmouth and maintain his ever- present record this season.

Wigan striker Antoine Sibierski is the only doubt for boss Chris Hutchings ahead of tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League match with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Marcus Bent goes straight into the Wigan squad for tomorrow’s Premier League game with Newcastle at St James’ Park after joining the Latics on a season-long loan from Charlton.

Wigan manager Chris Hutchings is to shuffle his pack for the Carling Cup visit of Hull – meaning midfielder Michael Brown could be handed a full debut.

Wigan 3 Sunderland 0

ANTOINE SIBIERSKI was on target again as Wigan kick-started their Barclays Premier League campaign at the expense of Middlesbrough — giving manager Chris Hutchings a victory to savour.

Wigan 1 Middlesbrough 0

Striker Henri Camara returns to the Wigan squad for the first time since April for their first home game of the Barclays Premier League season against Middlesbrough on Wednesday night.

Republic of Ireland midfielder Kevin Kilbane is likely to play at left-back for Wigan against Everton tomorrow following the departure of Leighton Baines.

All the starting teams for the final round of matches in the 2006/7 Barclays Premiership have been confirmed.

All of today's starting teams for the 3pm games in the Premiership.

Wigan winger Antonio Valencia returns to the squad for tomorrow’s JJB Stadium clash with Middlesbrough after serving a three-match suspension.

Wigan winger Lee McCulloch is a serious doubt ahead of tomorrow's Premiership match with Liverpool at Anfield.

WIGAN boss Paul Jewell conceded his side were “severely punished” for making mistakes during the draw with Tottenham that again cost them points in their battle to beat the drop.

Wigan 3 Tottenham 3

Wigan manager Paul Jewell is forced into three changes as his side looks for a vital Premiership win to ease their relegation worries today.

WIGAN manager Paul Jewell praised the commitment and desire of his side as they held out for nearly an hour with 10 men to claim a vital relegation point at Aston Villa.

Wigan captain Arjan de Zeeuw is a serious doubt for the Latics’ Barclays Premiership clash against Aston Villa.