Kevin Kilbane - Starts management

Letting go of Martinez

After a fantastic campaign for Wigan last season who won the FA Cup last season after beating the massive favourite of match, Manchester City 1-0. On the negative side, Wigan got relegated and had to let go of their manager, Roberto Martinez who left to join Premier League team, Everton.

Wigan's vacancy
Sky Sources have done a special report on the manager vacancy at Wigan Athletic. Sky bet have set up betting odds for the manager vacancy:

2/1 - Steve McClaren
9/2 - Owen Coyle
5/1 - Stuart Pearce
13/2 - Gary Megson
33-1 - Sven Goran Eriksson
66-1 - Kevin Kilbane
66-1 - Kenny Dalglish
100-1 - Rafa Benitez
100-1 - Roberto Di Matteo

Kevin Kilbane to become a manager?
Soccer A.M this weekend included Kevin Kilbane and he expressed that he wanted to become a manager when Tubes asked his weekly question to him.

T = Tubes
KK = Kevin Kilbane

T : You're top man, you're Irish, here's my impression of a fish...

KK : *Bursts out laughing*

T : You're a great guy, Kev because you were a great football player but what would you like to do next.
KK : Well, I'd love to go into management as it has always been in the back of my mind before I retired this year but if I can't find a suitable job I would like to become a coach.
T : Thanks, Kev.
KK : Cheers.
T & KK : * Shake hands *

Wigan Warriors celebrate Challenge Cup triumph

Wigan Warriors take the Challenge Cup trophy back to Wigan to celebrate their triumph over Hull FC on Saturday. The FA Cup was also on show in Wigan yesterday. Wigan Athletic chairman, Dave Whelan and Wigan Warriors chairman and owner, Ian Lenegan both brought the trophies into Wigan to prove that they are sporting town. Famous Wigan favourites such as Roberto Martinez and Kevin Kilbane were spotted celebrating with the town. All the Wigan Warrior's players and Wigan Athletic players were there to represent the trophies. Sky Sources understand that Dave Whelan left early to have a private chat with Kevin Kilbane.

Kevin Kilbane named as Wigan Manager
Wigan favourite, Kevin Kilbane has signed a 1 year deal as the manager of Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium. Kevin Kilbane was seen shaking the hand of Dave Whelan with a contract in his other hand. Sky Sports later confirmed this announcement.

Wigan Athletic fans were chuffed to learn that Kevin Kilbane will be the manager to take control of Wigan in the next season. One Wigan Athletic optimistic fan said "I hope he carries on the good works of Roberto Martinez and gets us back where we are supposed to be."

First meeting with Dave Whelan

DW = Dave Whelan
KK = Kevin Kilbane

DW: Hi Kevin, welcome to the Latics. I'd like to take a few minutes of your time to welcome you to the club before handing you over to your assistant manager, who is going to discuss team policy with you.
I also want to assure you that you have the full backing of the board and we wouldn't have hired you if we didn't feel that you were the right person to propel the club forward.

KK: Great, let's get the meeting started. I'm really looking forward to working with this club and achieving big things. I also appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to welcome me in person!

DW: Wigan Athletic are obviously a club with a lot of history. The fans really appreciate it when a newly-appointed manager has taken time to increase the knowledge of the club.
I appreciate you might already know a fair amount about Wigan's background, but I can send a detailed overview of the club's history to your inbox if you'd like?

KK: That sounds like a great idea. I'd love to learn more about the club.

DW: The club feels that our minimum expectation for the season is to secure promotion. At this time the board are willing to offer you the following budgets:

Wage budget: £433K
Transfer Budget: £2M

KK: Great, those expectations are exactly in line with the level that I feel the club should be performing at. The wage and transfer budgets seem to be sensible as well. I'm happy to agree with the clubs on these terms.

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First Press Conference

SM= Sunday Mirror
KK= Kevin Kilbane
B5= BBC Radio 5 Live
MF= MirrorFootball.co.uk

SM: How involved do you intend to be in the day-to-day running of the club?

KK: One person can't run an entire club on their own, so of course the staff will be handling a lot of things.

B5: While some managers are famous for their hands-on approach, others maintain a more reserved manner with their players. How do you see your management style?

KK: I think clubs work best when players feel valued as people as well as footballers.

MF: Last season was not one to remember for Wigan fans. How do you rate your chances of bouncing straight back into the Premier Division.

KK: *Storming out* I thought Martinez did a good job!

Introduction to the players

KK= Kevin Kilbane
GC= Gary Caldwell
EB= Emmerson Boyce

KK: (calmly) Many of you will know me but I wanted to personally introduce myself to you as the new Wigan manager.

GC: (calmly) On behalf of the team I would like to welcome you, and look forward to playing under a manager of such experience.

EB: (calmly) I agree with Gary.

KK: (passionately) That's exactly the sort of reaction I was after.

Wigan Athletic - Background information



Stadium


DW Stadium
Capacity: 25,133

Kits


Rivals


Bolton Wanderers & Burnley

Current players

Goalkeepers
1 - Joel
17 - Scott Carson
26 - Ali Al-Habsi

Defenders
3 - Stephen Crainey
5 - Gary Caldwell
6 - Juan Carlos Garcia
13 - Emmerson Boyce
20 - Leon Barnett
21 - Ivan Ramis
27 - Jordan Mustoe
30 - Thomas Rogne
33 - Paul Scharner

Midfielders
4 - James McCarthy
7 - Chris McCann
8 - Ben Watson
10 - Shaun Maloney
14 - James Perch
15 - Callum McManaman
16 - James McArthur
18 - Roger Espinoza
19 - Fraser Fyvie
22 - Jean Beausejour
23 - James McClean
24 - Jordi Gomez

Forwards
9 - Grant Holt
11 - Angelo Henriquez
25 - Marc-Antoine Fortune
29 - Nouha Dicko

Key Players

Captain Consistent

Gary Caldwell (C)



The rock at the back who will be 1st on the team sheet every match. I hope he can stay fit for most of the season to tighten up at the back.

5 Mc's in midfield

McClean McCann McCarthy McArthur McManaman



Forget McFly, here are Mc5! The Mc's in midfield have everything. Pace, vision, you name it. These will hopefully score and set up goals all season.

Prolific Striker

Grant Holt



Let go by Norwich in the summer to join Wigan, hoping to play European football. Hopefully he can re find his form from a few seasons ago at Norwich where he scored 21 goals in the Championship firing Norwich into the Premier League.

Sky Sources indicate that Simon Vukcevic has joined Wigan on a 5-year deal on a £14k a week contract. The 26 year old who used to play for rivals Blackburn was also offered a contract from Premier League team, Swansea but decided to join FA Cup winners, Wigan instead.

The Montenegrin couldn't get an contract agreement to keep him at Ewood Park and decided to drive down the M6 to greet Kevin Kilbane and his staff to sort out his contract.



" I am very happy to welcome Simon to the club and I'm sure that he can bring success to Wigan." Stated Kilbane. He also added, "I am sure that Simon won't be the last signing this window."