So a new era dawns, one very few expected prior to the Derby defeat as former club captain Gary Caldwell takes over the Latics hotseat with five games to save a season with a renewed commitment to play an exciting brand of football sadly lacking in recent months.
Caldwell has virtually a full strength squad to choose from with the exceptions of long term injuries Holt and Huws along with a recent injury to utility man Don Cowie.
35 goals in 41 games is an embarrassing return for Wigan, the second worse in the league (behind already relegated Blackpool) and this is the area Caldwell needs to focus on urgently with Waghorn the top striker with three goals. Fortune and Clarke have been the striking partnership of choice in recent weeks but with a combined tally of just two league goals, one of them must surely be dropped in favour of Waghorn.
Billy McKay the hotshot striker signed from Inverness in January has been confined to cameo appearances off the bench since arriving at the DW and in the last couple of games he has failed to even make the first eighteen. However the Northern Irish international has the knack of scoring goals and if Caldwell can find the right support for the diminutive striker then hopefully the goals will flow.
Elsewhere the Wigan starting line up should show few changes with the possible exception of moving Perch into the back four with either the veteran Boyce or Bong the man to make way with McCann coming into midfield alongside Kvist.
Fulham have injury worries at the back with Grimmer, Richards and Bodurov all doubtful.Further upfield, Dembele and Ruiz are available the latter having come on as a sub in the one all draw at Charlton on Tuesday.
A win for Fulham would virtually secure that they will be in the Sky Bet Championship next season whilst anything less than a win for Wigan would leave them having to win at least three of their remaining four games to stay up, a tall ask with games against play off chasing Wolves and Brentford on the list.
Likely Line up 4-1- 3-2
Al Habsi
Perch (C), Maguire, Pearce, Bong
Kvist
Kim, McCann, McClean
Fortune, Waghorn
Subs
Carson, Barnett, Boyce, Pennant, Murphy, Clarke McKay,
Predicted result….both sides to cancel each other out, a one all draw
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