After the euphoria of winning the FA Cup, Wigan came crashing down to reality after a 4-1 loss to Arsenal confirmed their relegation. There will be no final day hurrah at the DW stadium on sunday, simply a resignation that the only way is down from here on.
Relegation in itself is not the be all and end all. Many clubs have gone down and come back in better shape. The drop can force teams into making tough decisions, jettisoning big name but ultimately under-performing players, getting rid of their wages and starting afresh. West Ham look in a better shape now than when they were relegated from the Premier League in 2011, and Newcastle, despite their struggles this season, are in a far happier place all round now than when they went down in 2010.
The problem for Wigan is they have no high earners sapping resources out of the club. They have batted well above their average for the past nine years. The Latics, alongside probably only Everton, have been the most efficient Premiership team in terms of resources:results. The FA Cup win was the cherry on top of the cake, but the cake has turned stale.
Parachute payments will soften their landing in the Championship, while the players contracts should all include paycuts dependant on relegation. Europa League qualification, thanks to that Cup win, will bring in more money and no doubt there will be vultures circling the likes of Callum McManaman, James McCarthy and Shaun Maloney, but even if player sales bring in big money it is unlikely to be enough to help Wigan return to the promised land.
Wigan are inherently a small club, surrounded by much bigger and more glamorous teams.. The average gate at the DW stadium is just over 19,000. Only QPR have a smaller average crowd, and they want to move out of the restrictive Loftus Road, have the allure of London and a sugar daddy in Tony Fernandes. Dave Whelan has invest his own money to get Wigan to where they are and he deserves much of the credit for Wigan's time in the limelight, but there is a reason why the Lancashire club are owned by a local boy done well and not a oil-rich sheikh or billionaire.
"Wigan are inherently a small club, surrounded by much bigger and more glamorous teams..."
The sad fact is Wigan are simply returning to their natural norm. Even in the Championship, the FA Cup winners will not be one of the bigger sides, with Brighton, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, and Leeds all having bigger crowds, and that's without the lure of Premiership football.
The Europa League could prove to be a poisoned chalice. The competition can stretch the resources of even the biggest English sides, and Wigan's low Uefa co-efficient will see them play more qualifying rounds and, should they get through, harder draws. Instead of providing relief from the gruelling Championship campaign it could instead deliver a deadly blow to morale.
On, of course, there is the issue of Roberto Martinez's future. Dave Whelan may say Everton are not a big enough club for the Spanish manager, but they are a hell of a lot bigger than a Championship Wigan. It is unimaginable that Martinez will continue to take charge at the DW after relegation - he has already shown fantastic loyalty to the Latics and for the sake of his own career and his own ambitions he must move.
With revenue's crumbling, players and manager leaving, an unwanted Europa League campaign and a difficulty attractive new talent, the odds are Wigan will are more likely to find themselves in League One than the Premiership in 2014. They have earned the respect and admiration of many a football fan, but this sunday may be the last we see of Wigan for a long time.
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