3 managers Wigan Athletic must consider after shock Shaun Maloney sack decision | OneFootball

The Latics are on the hunt for a new boss after Maloney's time at the Brick Community Stadium came to an end

Wigan Athletic are somewhat surprisingly on the hunt for a new manager after deciding to part company with Shaun Maloney on Sunday.

The ex-Latics midfielder was appointed in January 2023 to try and rescue their faltering Championship campaign, and whilst they were relegated back to League One, Maloney stayed on and finished 12th in the third tier in his first full season.

Cost-cutting has been rife under new owner Mike Danson, who wants to make Athletic a sustainable financial outfit after previous owners have not been so kind, and Maloney's 2024-25 squad has not been the finished article by a long way.

Recent league form had dipped, with Wigan winning just one out of their previous seven league matches, and as they stare over their shoulders just six points away from the relegation zone, action has been taken by Danson and co.

Glenn Whelan is in interim charge of the Latics for now, but who should come in and replace Maloney? FLW takes a look at THREE names who will surely have to be considered for the vacancy.

Ryan Lowe

Wigan will surely be looking ambitiously at their next appointment, especially at individuals who have Championship experience and are now perhaps out of work.

Could Ryan Lowe therefore be the perfect fit? The former EFL striker worked his way up the ladder from Bury to Plymouth Argyle and then to Preston North End in December 2021, spending nearly three years at Deepdale.

Lowe had the Lilywhites on the edge of some play-off chases during his time at the Lancashire outfit, but after just one match of the 2024-25 season, he walked away from his job, citing that he had taken PNE as far as he could.

Out of work since, Lowe has been touted for many jobs yet remains unemployed, but this could be a perfect opportunity to get his career back on track.

Paul Warne

Wigan have just sacked a former player in the form of Maloney, so going down that route once more would certainly be interesting.

Paul Warne however is a promotion specialist from League One, where he has gotten Rotherham United up multiple times as well as Derby County last year, yet has always found life in the Championship a tad challenging.

Warne was let go by Derby earlier this year amid a poor run of form, but he's still a top operator at League One level, and back in his playing days he signed for Wigan in 1997 from non-league Wroxham.

He would go on to be a more significant player for Rotherham rather than what he did for the Latics, but the potential appointment of Warne would surely go down well among the fanbase as a proven option.

Paul Cook

They say never go back in football, but should Paul Cook do exactly that, it would no doubt be revered.

Cook almost performed miracles in 2020 to keep the Latics in the Championship, but a 12-point deduction was too much to overcome, and due to the financial situation surrounding the punishment, he resigned after the drop to League One was confirmed.

Since then, Cook underwhelmed at Ipswich Town but has built his reputation back up with Chesterfield, initially dropping all the way into the National League to take charge once more of the Spireites.