Wigan Athletic's wages remain unpaid with James McClean and ex-Sunderland players impacted

The Latics have several ex-Sunderland players on their books; including James McClean, Ashley Fletcher, Charlie Wyke and Max Power. Former Cats man Jordan Jones is also a Wigan player but is currently out on loan in Scotland.

Earlier this month Wigan Athletic announced losses of £7.7million for the financial year ending 30 June 2022, with the club then failing to pay Shaun Maloney’s players, which means the club could be facing a points deduction.

Wigan were handed a suspended three-point deduction after being late paying players' salaries three times in 2022 with a host of reasons being put forward for the delays by owner Al Hammad of Phoenix 2021 Limited.

The Latics are bottom of the Championship and five points adrift of safety, with a points deduction now on the cards after a fourth late payment of wages this season.

Despite Wigan’s wages being more than a week overdue showed great character to draw 1-1 against Watford on Saturday with Latics boss Shaun Maloney delighted with his side.

"It was a very important point for us - every point is important given the position we're in," the Latics boss said to Wigan Today. "But when you put into context what's happened in the last few days, I'm just so incredibly impressed and so incredibly proud to be involved with this team.

"In the first half we were okay, both teams were just okay. And I really felt at half-time, that if they really believed how good they could be, we could really have a big impact.

"The substitutes played a big role in that, and I thought we were brilliant in the second half. You could see in that last 20 minutes, we should have won that game. The chances we had, the one-v-ones, the counter attacks, we should have been more ruthless and more clinical.

"What I want to see more...the only time I get angry is when I see a lack of belief in the players. When they have that belief, they can be a good team at this level."