Ex-Bristol Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday star lands first manager role after sacking confirmed

Wigan Athletic have sacked Shaun Maloney and confirmed the appointment of former Bristol Rovers player and coach Glenn Whelan on an interim basis. The Latics have won just one of their last seven league games and fell to 15th in the table after a disappointing 2-1 defeat at home to Reading at the weekend.

Maloney, a member of Wigan’s 2013 FA Cup winning team, took charge of the Latics in January 2023 and comfortably kept the club in the third tier despite an eight-point deduction. But despite this achievement, the board feels the club has gone backwards in recent months and adds that a new manager is necessary to improve results.

“It cannot be overlooked that the current League One campaign has clearly not progressed as anticipated,” said a club statement. “Home results and performances, in particular, have been disappointing and below the standard at which our supporters expect. For this reason, the board felt that it was time for a change.”

Glenn Whelan gets first managerial role

Former Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke City, Aston Villa and Bristol Rovers midfielder Glenn Whelan will get his first taste of management this week when Wigan travel to face fellow strugglers Mansfield Town. The 91-time Republic of Ireland international will be joined in the dugout by Graham Barrow and Frankie Bunn while the hierarchy conduct talks with a range of managerial candidates.

A club statement explained: “The process of appointing a new Wigan Athletic Manager begins immediately. In the interim, First Team Coach, Glenn Whelan, will take charge of the first team supported by Club Ambassador and former Manager and Assistant Manager, Graham Barrow, along with Lead PDP Coach, Frankie Bunn.”

This is Whelan’s first taste of management, but not his first experience of leadership. The tough-tackling midfielder notably filled in as stand-in captain at both Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City in the early years of his career, while at Bristol Rovers under manager Joey Barton he acted as first team coach for 14 months while also being registered as a player when required.

Whelan notably formed part of the team which won promotion from League Two to the third-tier and played the full 90 minutes during the iconic 7-0 victory over Scunthorpe United.

He joined Wigan’s coaching team in September 2024 and prior to that also formed part of John O’Shea’s interim coaching team with the Republic of Ireland before the permanent appointment of Heimir Hallgrimsson.

The leading contenders for the Wigan Athletic job

Wigan Athletic are on the hunt for a long-term successor to take the reins from Shaun Maloney on a permanent basis and steer the club away from the danger zone.

As it stands, the leading contenders are thought to be ex-Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe, former Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt and ex-Derby County boss Paul Warne. Other names in the fray are thought to be Luke Williams, formerly of Swansea City and ex-Rotherham United boss Leam Richardson.

Whelan is also in the running for the post and will hope that a strong start can secure him the Wigan gig on a permanent basis. “I think he’s got all the attributes to be a fantastic coach,” Joey Barton told Bristol Live during his time as manager. “I believe massively that good coaches make good players and I think Whelo will be an outstanding coach.”

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