Wigan owner Dave Whelan has promised to invest up to £25million in a bid to ensure his beloved club are not one-season Barclays Premiership wonders.
Athletic confirmed their promotion to the top-flight with a straightforward 3-1 win over Reading at the JJB Stadium just 27 years after entering the Football League.
Next season they will be switching opponents like Rotherham, Crewe and Gillingham for
Chelsea,
Manchester United and
Arsenal.
And to ensure they have a better chance of competing with the elite of English football, Whelan has vowed to double the bounty he has already spent on transforming a club that finished fourth from bottom in Division Three 11 years ago, when watched by average crowds of less than 2,000 at rickety Springfield Park.
"I have not got much change out of £25million with building the ground, picking the club up and buying players," admitted Whelan, who made his fortune from his sports retail business JJB Sports.
"But it is money that I would only have given to the government on my death so I may as well enjoy it and let the people of Wigan enjoy it with me.
"I am not keen on bringing in foreign players just because they have a name, we look for players who pull the shirt on, wear it with pride and fight.
"I suppose we are going to look at 10, 20, £25million.
"If we can stabilise ourselves in the Premiership and compete with
Blackburn,
Bolton,
Birmingham that will be fine."
