Just 27 years ago they were a non-league side with a bleak future, a dodgy little stadium and, quite frankly, very little hope of ever achieving anything other than a mediocre existence.

Today they have a place in the Premiership, a state-of-the-art ground, a more than decent team and a definite possibility of becoming one of the top sides in the country.

Congratulations to little Wigan. Or should that be the team formerly known as little Wigan. In truth it is quite astonishing what they achieved at the JJB Stadium over the past decade.

And most of that has been down to ambitious and extremely wealthy chairman Dave Whelan who has already pumped tens of millions into the remarkable transformation of the club.

On Sunday they secured promotion to the top flight with a 3-1 home win and that sparked off scenes of mass celebration in a town that until now had been noted mostly for its rugby team.

Manager Paul Jewell joined his players and chairman in a champagne shower in the dressing room as the 27-year journey finally came to a glorious end.

But, unlike many of the other teams who go up to the Premiership for a few months of glory followed by almost certain relegation, Wigan look set to go on from here to even greater things.

Whelan has already pledged that his team will not become another one of the

yo-yo sides that go up and down as east as a tanga in a strip club.

Speaking after they clinched promotion, he described how he had already pumped 75 million into the club and said he might as well round it off to 100 million in order to maintain their place at the top.

And with that sort of mentality behind the club I would fully expect them not to be one-season wonders and to rapidly establish themselves as a top flight side.

But just like in Chelsea’s case, money can’t always buy you success, and a lot of the credit for Wigan¹s superb rise through the leagues has to go down to Jewell who once did the same thing with Bradford.

Although still relatively young, Jewell has already shown that he has the ability to become one of the top managers in English football.

For a change it looks like next season one of the promoted teams could be entering the Premier League with a bang rather than merely a desperate plan to avoid the drop.

Who knows, maybe Roman Abramovich might have found himself a little competition. Or, at the very least, a man who he can compare notes with.

Remarkable Lampard

If Frank Lampard started Chelsea’s game against Manchester United last night ­ and I have no doubt that he did ­ it would have been his 145th consecutive Premier League match for the club.

Quite remarkable and even more so when you consider he has only made 150 league appearances for the club in total so effectively he was bought, put in the team and never left out.

That says a lot about his performances over the past few years. Well done that man.

Liverpool’s case

I must say I was very surprised to hear a number of people on Monday complaining about how Liverpool were being unfairly treated by the FA for not giving them England’s fourth Champions League spot even if they win the competition.

Let’s get one thing straight from the very start here ­ it’s not the FA’s fault Liverpool will not be in the CL next season. And, to be honest, it’s not even UEFA’s fault. It’s Liverpool’s.

Admittedly it would be a little disappointing if Liverpool were to win the competition but not be allowed to defend it next year. But it¹s not as if we didn’t know that before a ball was even kicked this season.

The rule, although wrong, has been there from the word go ­ Champions League winners are not guaranteed automatic entry into the following season’s competition ­ in black and white.

If Liverpool have not been good enough domestically over the course of the season, and let’s face it they haven’t, then they don’t deserve the fourth Champions League spot. Everton have been good enough, have secured the place they deserve and will be taking part.

It’s simple, basic and fair. So deal with it.

Contact James on: [email protected]