Wigan appoint trailblazer Shadab Iftikhar as first-team coach alongside former England midfielder Tom Huddlestone | Football news

Trailblazer Shadab Iftikhar makes exciting return to Wigan as first team coach; Iftikhar worked his way up to Pakistan, Mongolia and Samoa, but his first football role was as a scout at Wigan under Portugal boss Roberto Martinez; Tom Huddlestone also joins Wigan as manager

Scottish football legend and former Pakistan U20 coach Shadab Iftikhar has returned to Wigan as first team coach.

Iftikhar made history for Highland League side Fort William in the 2021/22 season when he became the first Briton from South Asia to make the cut in senior Scottish football.

He returns to Wigan, where his footballing journey began, shadowing former Latics boss Roberto Martinez, who now manages Portugal, and providing analysis of the opposition’s matches.

Preston-born Iftikhar, who previously managed Mongolian side Bayangol and Samoan side Kiwi FC, worked alongside current Wigan manager Shaun Maloney when the pair were part of the Belgium national team under Martinez.

Maloney also brought in Tom Huddlestone as first-team coach, alongside the former Derby County, Tottenham and England midfielder after serving as player-coach at Manchester United’s U21s.

Wigan boss Maloney told them club website: “I am delighted to welcome Tom and Shadab to the football club, who both join us with very different backgrounds. Tom arrived after two seasons at Manchester United U21s and we worked together at Hull as teammates.

“He is an extremely calm but also very passionate coach and has been involved for a long time at the elite level which will help our younger players.

“I previously worked with Shadab in Belgium and he also worked with Roberto Martinez at Everton and Wigan, so he understands the DNA of our club.

“Both will be great additions to the coaching staff.”

Iftikhar said: “I am very excited and very grateful to the gaffer for giving me the opportunity. I can’t wait to get started and I hope we can have a fantastic season.

“Wigan Athletic has always been close to my heart. I started here with Roberto Martinez a long, long time ago and I’m really excited to come back and get involved in the project.

“It’s an absolute honor to work for this football club. The gaffer has been a mentor to me and I’ve already learned a lot from him and I’m very happy to be working under such a top manager.”

Huddlestone added: “The last couple of years have been really educational from a coaching point of view. It gave me ambition as coaching is something I want to do long term and I am grateful to have this opportunity at the beginning of my coaching journey. “

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