IAIN MACINTOSH: Wigan well worth supporting

A lot of nasty things have been written about Wigan’s supporters this week, but I spoke to both of them at Wembley on Saturday and they were lovely.

Badoom-tish! Mocking Wigan’s fans is easy. So easy, in fact, that everyone does it these days. But while ribbing a team for their lack of support is as much a part of English football as overpriced tickets and undercooked burgers, there’s a danger that we’re going to lose sight of a very important fact. For all the mickey-taking, Wigan are a breath of fresh air.

The Latics have been pilloried in the press over the last seven days for returning 10,000 tickets to their semi-final clash with Millwall. While fourth division Southend United took 32,000 fans to Wembley the previous weekend, Wigan could only attract 20,000. Conclusive proof, it has subsequently been argued, that Wigan are not a proper football club and have no business clogging up the top flight. But this is palpable nonsense.