We get knocked down, but we get up again…

…you’re never gonna keep us down!

Well it’s hard to know where to start after a weekend where the phrase “a rollercoaster of emotions” doesn’t even come close to describing what latics fans went through. Not just on Sunday, but also on Saturday, before Wigan had even kicked a ball.

Throughout Saturday afternoon, with games taking place that affected Wigan’s own survival chances, our relegation rivals went behind, levelled and went in front seemingly every five minutes. I personally had to leave the house at 1.30pm as I couldn’t take the stress of it all…and my team wasn’t even playing!

To say results ended up going against us is something of an under-statement. Blackburn got an unlikely point at home to newly-crowned Premier League Champions, Manchester United. Meanwhile, Blackpool and Wolves both picked up wins to put added pressure on latics going into Sunday’s crunch match.

When latics quickly found themselves 2-0 down in the first half against the Hammers you’d have been forgiven at half time for feeling as though it was all over. Our time was up, our Premier League journey had run its course and the dreaded ‘R’ word was but 45 minutes away.

But this isn’t any ordinary football club, this is Wigan Athletic we’re talking about here. Giving up simply isn’t an option. The introductions of Victor Moses and Conor Sammon at half time gave the players and the crowd the lift and the belief that they needed to turn things around.

No sooner had Rob Green picked the ball out of the net following Charles N’Zogbia’s wonder free-kick, Green was doing it again when Conor Sammon cut inside a defender from Ben Watson’s through ball and slotted calmly beyond the ‘keeper to pull things level.

With Birmingham losing at home to Fulham, a point was enough to keep Wigan’s survival chances alive going into the last game at Stoke. But Wigan didn’t stop at that. The spirit, commitment and desire the players showed to go and get a winner was enough to take your breath away.

Rob Green’s goal led a charmed life and it felt as though we’d have to go to Stoke needing a win to even give us half a chance of survival. However, like the true prizefighter we are, we found that extra inch, that extra bit of energy and with just seconds left on the clock Charles N’Zogbia’s second of the afternoon sent the DW Stadium into celebrations that are simply indescribable.

Not after Jason Roberts’ goal at Arsenal to send latics to the Carling Cup Final, nor after Charles N’Zogbia’s injury time winner also against Arsenal last season have I seen celebrations to even come close to those on Sunday.

When you talk about Wigan Athletic you’re talking about a prizefighter that’s truly unique in its never-say-die attitude. They broke the mould when they made this prizefighter. It just does not know when it’s beaten. Even when it’s firmly down on its backside, with the third fist about to hit the canvas, it somehow finds something from somewhere to get up, dust itself down and finish the job off.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s what makes being a Wigan Athletic fan truly special. I see other teams fighting like mad to stay up, but are any capable of the sort of courage we showed on Sunday? I don’t really think so. There’s just something about this football club that means it’s always capable of the impossible, the unthinkable. We won’t always pull it off (we’d be Champions of Europe if we did) but somehow when we really need it most we manage to pull it out of the bag.

Roberto Martinez summed it up in a direct address to the fans in the supporters bar after the game. “Sorry we put you through it today but we like to do things our way, the latics way!” Having a man in charge that knows exactly what this football club and its supporters are all about is a big reason why I think this club is going places and is as capable of the unthinkable as it’s ever been before.

And so it’s on to Stoke. A draw could be enough. We could even lose and stay up on goal difference (again!) if the likes of Birmingham and Blackpool suffer heavier defeats than we do. That really would be remarkable given our goal difference was -10 after the first two games of the season. Just like four years ago at Sheffield united, you wouldn’t bet against latics doing it the hard way, whatever that hard way is.

I wrote on Twitter on Sunday night: “I don’t know who writes Wigan Athletic’s scripts but they ought to be nominated for an Oscar” Here’s hoping that’s the feeling on Sunday evening. It’s like living within a real-life Rocky film. We’re in the final round, we’re exhausted, we're battered, we’re bruised, but somewhere within those last closing moments you feel we’ve got it in us to deliver one final, telling blow.

Progress with unity

I can’t go without showing you a couple of videos from Sunday. The first is, of course, the highlights from an unbelievable match. The second is how Sky Sports News covered the game. It's over 11 minutes long so if you can't watch it all makes sure you watch from about 8 minutes in. I really feel it sums up Sunday’s events and the emotions attached superbly well.