Wigan won the FA Cup and could have avoided relegation three days later if we’d celebrated properly, says Paul Scharner

PAUL SCHARNER is proud to be the only Austrian to have won an FA Cup final.

But that glorious day for Wigan at Wembley in 2013 is tinged with deep regret for the former defender.

Paul Scharner shows off his 2013 FA Cup winners medal and shirt he wore that day against Manchester City at home in Austria

Austrian ace Paul Scharner proudly holds aloft the FA Cup at Wembley

That is because Scharner believes then boss Roberto Martinez and owner Dave Whelan’s decision not to let the team celebrate that weekend contributed to their relegation from the Premier League three days later.

And as a consequence the club have suffered dark days since — going into administration and yo-yo’ing between the Championship and League One.

Scharner flew home and refused to go on an open-top bus parade with the trophy when the team were finally allowed to enjoy their historic 1-0 win over Manchester City nine days later.

And the Latics cult hero, now 43, told SunSport: “I was too hurt. Winning the FA Cup was the biggest achievement in Wigan’s history but we had been relegated.

“I skipped the bus parade and flew home. I watched the videos later but couldn’t imagine I’d stay on the bus celebrating like we’d won the league.

“Of course, I missed something because half of Wigan was on the streets celebrating but I couldn’t throw away my sad emotions and celebrate like we’d only had success.”

Wigan celebrate winning the FA Cup with boss Roberto Martinez

It had been a bizarre sequence of events caused by the FA Cup final being played one week before the domestic league season finished.

Wigan, who host Manchster United in the third round on Monday night, had written one of the most glorious chapters in FA Cup history after Ben Watson’s injury-time winner stunned Roberto Mancini’s Premier League champions.

But they had to win at Arsenal in their penultimate game of the season three nights later or drop into the Championship.

So the decision was made for Martinez and his players to travel home by coach that evening with alcohol banned so champagne was replaced by Lucozade.

And Scharner recalled: “Dave Whelan came into the dressing room after the game and said, ‘Congratulations, boys  — but we need to concentrate on Tuesday.’

“We’d made history for Wigan and pulled off one of the biggest cup final shocks.

“It was the same with Martinez, ‘The focus must be on Arsenal.’

“But looking back, had I been the manager, I’d have stayed in London and not travelled back until after the Arsenal game on Tuesday.

“We should’ve had a big celebration until Sunday evening before starting preparations on Monday. 

“It would’ve brought more energy for the Arsenal match. When you’re in this unbelievably happy moment after such a big win, you must focus on the emotions and keep the energy you had on the pitch on Saturday because we’d won the FA Cup. 

“I don’t think it was the best decision to go back to Wigan with no celebration.”

The team, having travelled home with the flattest celebration ever, then had to come all the way back to North London a couple of days later.

And despite a spirited first-half performance Wigan were thumped 4-1 by the Gunners.

Wigan were relegated from the Premier League at Arsenal three days after the biggest win of their history

Scharner sighed: “Theo Walcott killed us in the second half. It was difficult for me because one of the main targets I had in my career was never to have a relegation on my CV.

“All the things that have happened to the club since were a consequence of that season.”

The Austrian was on loan for the second half of the FA Cup-winning season from Hamburg to help Martinez shore up his leaky defence — but he had previously enjoyed four seasons at the club from 2006 to 2010.

And he believes Wigan never fully fulfilled their potential when they were in the top-flight because Whelan was not ambitious enough.

Scharner points to the 2008-09 season when the club were flying high under Steve Bruce and sitting sixth halfway through the season with European football a realistic target.

He said: “Whelan was so happy with Premier League status. He only looked at that.

David Whelan was not ambitious about European football and sold his best players

“He didn’t grow his target and that’s why Wigan stopped developing.

“A good example was in 2008-09 when we were sixth after Christmas and he sold Emile Heskey and Wilson Palacios, our main players, during the January transfer window to Aston Villa and Tottenham.

“And that is because Whelan wasn’t interested in Wigan playing European football. I can tell you now: we had definite potential at that time to compete in the top third of the table.”

Scharner revealed the mental pressure made him feel ill on the morning of the final — and he added: “During the game, my body temperature skyrocketed but I couldn’t stop because I wanted to win the trophy.

“I was near to having some tears when walking out. You cannot allow emotions to overwhelm you but also need to keep some for on the pitch.

“During my career, I set up two or three special mental tricks to stop it. One was to put a stop sign in my mind to immediately stop negative thoughts.”

Scharner, famed for his wacky haircuts and dress sense, never played senior football again after Wigan’s final game in 2013 against Aston Villa — deciding to retire after failing to get a look-in when he returned to Hamburg.

The Austrian now runs his own business called “Lighthouse – Partners for Life” where he works as a “personal coach”. 

He said: “I help young players learn what it takes to become a pro — not just on the pitch but lifestyle things and the mental side of the game.”

Paul Scharner returned to Wigan for a special 10th anniversary event including a charity football match

Scharner returned to Wigan last year for a special 10th anniversary gala and charity football match as well as reacquainting himself with former team-mate and current Latics boss Shaun Maloney.

And the Austrian believes the new owners  and investors led by local businessman Mike Danson have started a brighter chapter for the club.

He said: “Hopefully, their finances have stabilised for the next decade to focus on promotion again at least to the Championship. Wigan is definitely a Championship team and one that sometimes can go for promotion to the Premier League. 

“Because of the foreign investors they had for the last couple of years, they’re now happy to have Wigan-based ones that belong to the heritage. 

“And the club has created with their past players a group where we can always communicate, and we are always invited to the home games.

“It’s vital for a club like Wigan to build some heritage and get some support for their long-term success.”

I threw away my cup losers medal – then got a Christmas card from fan who caught it

WIGAN legend Paul Scharner threw his League Cup runners-up medal away after losing to Manchester United in the 2006 final.

United thumped the Latics 4-0 at the Millennium Stadium and so Scharner was so cross he threw his medal into the crowd.

And he said: “I was so disappointed with the set-plays that I threw my medal away. 

“The final was in February but what was funny is that I got a Christmas card later that year from a Wigan fan who caught the medal. 

“I got a big thank you and it was written like it was the best day of his life!”

Wigan could well be excused for losing by a similar scoreline on Monday night in the FA Cup against a United team two divisions above them.

But Scharner believes United can be beaten.

He said: “I guess they will rest some players for the Premier League game and there’s an opportunity to win the game and surprise many people. Let’s hope so.”