"No disrespect towards Wigan" - Barnsley reaction emerges to potential Conor Hourihane exit news | OneFootball

FLW's Barnsley fan pundit cannot see the 35-year-old being tempted to join the Latics.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Wigan Athletic are on the hunt for a new head coach after Ryan Lowe was sacked following their 6-1 defeat against Peterborough United on Saturday.

The Latics are currently inside the relegation zone in League One, having struggled this season under the stewardship of the former Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End boss.

The 47-year-old failed to win a single league game in 2026, with his only highlight after the turn of the year being Wigan's FA Cup Third Round victory over Preston at Deepdale in January.

Wigan will face Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Emirates in the next round of that competition this weekend, and they could potentially have a new permanent head coach in the dugout by the time that fixture rolls around, with there now being at least a couple of names on the shortlist for the role.

Pete O'Rourke revealed yesterday that Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell is a leading candidate to replace Lowe at the Brick Community Stadium, and that the Scot is interested in returning to the club where he started his managerial career.

Now, Alan Nixon has reported via his Patreon that Conor Hourihane of Barnsley is also under consideration at Wigan as they search for a new head coach.

Wigan Athletic move "would not make sense" for Hourihane

We asked our Barnsley fan pundit, Andy Symcox, whether he could see Hourihane being tempted by a switch to Wigan, but he dismissed that suggestion.

"On social media there have been a lot of rumours and murmurings about Conor Hourihane's tenure at Barnsley, particularly around his team selections, formations and tactics," Andy said.

"However, I would suggest that most of any rancour is against the owners or board, who a good number of people feel have not sufficiently backed him or shown enough ambition.

"Having said all that, and with absolutely no disrespect towards Wigan Athletic, I cannot see for the life of me why Conor would be tempted to leave Barnsley and become the new coach at Wigan.

"To me, that would not make any sense whatsoever."

From an outside perspective, it seems unlikely that Hourihane would be tempted by a move to Wigan unless he was offered a significant wage hike or an extremely exciting footballing project.

Barnsley are comfortably in a stronger position in the League One table than the Latics, and with a few games in hand on several sides above them in the division, the Tykes will no doubt be looking to improve their position between now and the end of the season.

Hourihane is in his first head coach role at Barnsley, a club where he enjoyed a successful spell as a player, so it would be a surprise if he was to jump ship at this stage of his career to join a club that is arguably in a weaker position than his current employers.

Wigan may have more joy if they pursue a deal to appoint Exeter boss Caldwell, who had never spent any time in the south of England prior to joining Exeter and has both played for and managed the Latics previously.

However, like Barnsley, Exeter are in a favourable league position compared to Wigan, so it may well take a bit of convincing for Caldwell to go back up north and return to the League One strugglers.