Wigan Athletic to Aston Villa the Connections

There is a lot more than the M6 Motorway connecting Wigan Athletic to Aston Villa, Vital Latics takes a quick look back to see the connections between these two famous clubs.

Warren Aspinall, Lee Butler, Bobby Campbell, John Deehan, Gareth Farrelly, Alan McLoughlin, Brendan Ormsby, Nigel Spink, Kenny Swain and David Unsworth are all former employees of both the Latics and the Villa

Former Managers:

Kenny Swain

Ex-Villa fullback Kenny Swain managed the Latics disastrously in 1993 and almost got us relegated from the football league.

John Deehan

Another ex-Villa player John Deehan was the first part of the Dave Whelans 10 year plan for the Latics when he replaced Graham Barrow as manager at Springfield Park in October 1995, he went on to lead the Latics to the third division title in 1997.


We are the Champions - John Deehan with the 3rd Division trophy at Springfield Park

Current Staff:

Nigel Spink

Goalkeeping coach Nigel Spink was a European Cup winner with Aston Villa back in 1982

Ten minutes into the 1982 final against Bayern Munich, Villa's first choice goalkeeper, Jimmy Rimmer, was injured and substitute keeper Spink was called into action, having only made one previous appearance in the first team. Spink performed superbly, keeping a clean sheet, and Villa won the game 1-0.

He went on to make 460 appearances for Villa

He joined the Latics from Birmingham City in December 2007 following Steve Bruce up the M6 and he appears to be working wonders with Latics current number 1 Chris Kirkland putting his superb form down to the coaching of former Villa man Spinks.


Pies R Us - Nigel Spink Catching pounds instead of balls now a days

Vital Latics - Connected in more ways than one

It's easy to join us at Vital Latics to register , simply click the link and enjoy getting involved

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.