Wigan chairman Dave Whelan is hoping to lead his team out at Wembley when they face either Chelsea or Manchester City in next month’s FA Cup final.
2-0 in today’s semi-final, handing Whelan the opportunity to return to the final of domestic football’s top cup competition, after seeing his career end in the 1960 showpiece where he broke his leg.
And Wigan boss Roberto Martinez confirmed his chairman would be given the honour of leading the players out onto the pitch on May 11.
‘We will get our chairman leading the team out at Wembley. It will be a full circle for him and a great honour,’ said the Latics manager.
But Whelan didn’t want to jump the gun, insisting any decision would have to rest with the Football Association.
‘It all depends on the FA about whether I can lead the team out in the final. I think they would agree that I could lead them out,’ he said.
‘It is more than 50 years since I played in an FA Cup final and it is so wonderful. A cup final is a very, very special day.
‘It gives you awful memories leaving the cup final I played in an ambulance, but today has cured a lot of those memories.
‘It makes history for me, history for Wigan and history for football. It is really exciting for Wigan. The dream is we play Manchester City in the final and we win 1-0.’
Whelan and Wigan will discover the identity of their Cup final opponents tomorrow, with the semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester City kicking off at 4pm.
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