If the 2013 FA Cup final represented a blip for the Sheikh Mansour-era Manchester City in their quest for total domination of English football, it was a historic moment for their conquerors, Wigan Athletic. Memories of that famous day at Wembley still endure for Latics’ supporters despite the relegation from the Premier League that followed. Yet watching the modern-day Wigan, who remain bottom of League One despite a 1-0 win over Reading on Saturday, makes the toppling of City in a Cup final seem an epoch ago.

The club, perhaps understandably, continue to hark back to their halcyon days. Last season they brought back Gary Caldwell – club captain in 2013 – for his second stint as manager, having led the club to promotion from this division in 2015-16. Choosing to swap Exeter for a return to the Latics last season was seen as a risky move by Caldwell, considering the shoestring budget imposed upon him by Mike Danson, the owner who is keen to sell.

Finances are ultra-tight at the Greater Manchester club amid dwindling crowds and losses on the pitch and on the balance sheet. The local businessman Danson and his family saved Wigan from liquidation in June 2023 after mismanagement from previous owners brought a points deduction and relegation from the Championship. Three successive mid-table finishes in League One under their stewardship have brought a semblance of stability, but this season they have plummeted.

The problem is the Dansons have been unable to find an ambitious buyer to take the club to the next level. Now the prospect of a first season in the fourth tier since 1996-97 is a distinct possibility, although victory against Reading – the Latics’ second league win of the campaign, sealed by Scott Hogan’s 71st-minute strike – made the picture a little rosier.

“Some of our play was tremendous,” said Caldwell. “Our spirit, our character, our determination not to let the ball go in the net was fantastic. It was pretty stressful towards the end. We need to try and build on this. You have to keep the players believing and committing. There’s still so many aspects of our game that need to be better, but a result makes you feel better about yourself psychologically.”

The presence of Leam Richardson in the opposition dugout at the Brick Community Stadium gave fans more reason to reminisce about better days. Richardson, who claimed the League One title as Wigan manager in April 2022, was sacked in November of the same year just 16 days after signing a new three-year contract.

Caldwell has also found himself under pressure. The former centre-back has been criticised by fans for his team’s uninspiring style of play, which has produced just six goals in nine games, the fewest in League One. They went 447 minutes without a league goal until Hogan, the veteran forward, converted after the substitute Christian Saydee’s cross was parried out by the Reading goalkeeper, Joel Pereira.

And while Wigan’s keeper, Joe Whitworth, was regularly called into action to see out the win, the home side were still good value for three points, allowing Caldwell and his squad to breathe. The manager’s backers will rightly point to the lack of spending by the club in the summer, with the £1.5m generated by the sale of Sam Tickle to Bristol City not yet reinvested on players and an overreliance on young loanees to prop up the squad.

Danson and the club’s hierarchy have issued rallying cries to supporters to return to the Brick Community Stadium in an effort to generate more revenue, thus making the club more appealing to new owners, but why should fans part with hard-earned cash to watch such insipid football?

Before the game, Caldwell had said: “We also recognise the need for points is big, for our supporters to have that feelgood factor, and be able to leave the stadium in a much better frame of mind than they have been.”

The Scot got what he needed against Reading, yet the sense of chaos above Caldwell was evidenced by the abrupt departure of Sarah Guilfoyle from her role as managing director on the eve of the new season, after a 10-year stay at the club. And there are plenty who feel the owners ought to bear the brunt of criticism. The Wigan Athletic Supporters Action Group is demanding answers from Danson on why selling the club has been such a struggle and the lack of investment. Other fans are more resigned to the idea that some short-term pain may be necessary for long-term gain; most agree a sale would be transformative.

For now, despite a rare victory over a hitherto in-form Reading, the short-term struggles look likely to continue. The hope is that a hero of 2013 can perform miracles on the pitch, despite the constraints off it.