With Latics’ relegation to League One finally confirmed, the search for a new manager will now gather pace with an appointment expected by the end of the month or beginning of June.

However, Latics’ track record in recruiting managers is not a good one as they have sacked five managers since 2013 and have one of the highest managerial turnovers in the Football League.

It is fair to say they have made some poor managerial appointments, in particular Owen Coyle, Malky Mackay and Warren Joyce, and it is crucial that they get it right this time.

Dave Whelan and David Sharpe have a shortlist of potential managers and hopefully this time they will do the due diligence and carry out extensive interviews with all the candidates.

There have been many managers mentioned in connection with the post but here’s my own personal shortlist of candidates that I would like to see interviewed.

1. The current Fleetwood Town and former Latics manager Uwe Rosler is probably the front-runner for the job but a lot will depend on which division Fleetwood are in next season. Rosler has done a remarkable job to get them into the League One play-offs on limited resources.

He initially did very well for Latics getting the team into the FA Cup semi-final and Championship play-offs in 2014, and he clearly has a good knowledge of League One and that will be required if they are to make a quick return to the Championship.

2. The current Northern Ireland manager and former Latics midfielder Michael O’Neill is in contention for the Norwich City job but if Latics could tempt him, it would be something of a coup.

O’Neill was named coach of the year at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015 after helping Northern Ireland qualify for their first major tournament for 30 years. His team then went onto reach the last 16 of Euro 2016.

If Latics wanted him they would have to pay compensation to Northern Ireland but he would be an excellent appointment if it came about.

3. Former Latics midfielder Paul Cook is a strong contender for the job. Cook played nearly 100 games for the club and featured in the squad, which reached the FA Cup quarter-final in 1987.

The current Portsmouth manager has led his team to promotion from League Two this season and previously managed Chesterfield to the League Two title in 2014.

Much could depend on the current takeover talks at Portsmouth with billionaire former Walt Disney Chairman Michael Eisner looking to invest in the club.

Cook has proved that he can be successful in the lower divisions. He is originally from Kirkby and if he wants a return to the North West, then Latics would be the ideal club for him.

4. The Lincoln City management duo of Danny and Nicky Cowley have been sending shockwaves throughout the football world with their scientific approach to coaching.

They achieved promotion to the Football League and were the first non-league team to reach the FA Cup quarter-final in 103 years, beating Ipswich, Brighton and Burnley this season.

Their Sports Science methods include using ‘Hudl’ to send video clips to players and iCoach4Sport which provides statistics and data to analyse player performance.

The two brothers are the rising stars of the coaching world and their relentless approach to management has won them plenty of admirers further up the football pyramid.

This article was first published in the 12th Man column for the Wigan Evening Post on Friday 5th May 2017.