With his charges currently lying in 7^th position, Wigan Athletic manager Steve Bruce may be forgiven for dreaming of a European adventure. But for his chairman Dave Whelan, European football has been a dream for a lifetime.

 

The Lancashire club supremo admitted that his team are closing in on fulfilling one of his life’s greatest ambitions. "To be seventh, with eight matches remaining is great. We need another 14 points, I would say, to be in with a very good chance of finishing in a European spot. The whole of Wigan, and I think the country, would love us to get there."

Wigan have quietly just go on with the job this season and have crept up the league to their current lofty height. For a team dominated historically by their ‘egg-chasing’ counterparts, seventh in the top flight of English football with only the big four plus Villa and Everton ahead of them is still a massive achievement. 

If Wigan do succeed in their European quest, Whelan has promised that Athletic will treat the competition with the respect it deserves although knows the fight to find the funds to compete will be difficult. "European football will be an expensive business but if we can get there we have to fight to raise the money - if we are going into Europe we want to go in to win it.”