Twenty years ago, Nathan Ellington fired unfancied Wigan Athletic to the top flight for the first time – he recounts the ride from third tier to Premier League...

Job done

Football’s road to success has never been well signposted. Transfers that appear to be no-brainers can turn into nightmares. Others that fail to get the pulse racing can catapult a player into the big time. Nothing is guaranteed.

Nathan Ellington wasn’t sure which path he was taking when he agreed to join Wigan Athletic from Bristol Rovers back in March 2002. The Latics had been an established third-tier side since JJB Sports founder Dave Whelan had bought the club seven years earlier, but in a town where rugby league ruled, the JJB Stadium hardly felt like the centre of the footballing universe.

“It seemed a decent enough move to a club one division higher, but you can never be sure,” the former marksman, 43, tells FFT today. “But after I joined, I soon realised just how ambitious they were. The owner and the gaffer, Paul Jewell, were talking about reaching the Premier League, and when I started training with the lads I could see why. They were a cracking group of players.