Languishing at the wrong end of the Championship table and devoid of the high quality performances needed to acquire three points in this division it appears time for the tin hats at the DW Stadium.
Like rats deserting a sinking ship there appear to be as many players leaving the club as linked with joining.
Not least the departure of Roger Espinoza and the expected departures of Shaun Maloney and Callum McManaman see three further members of the FA Cup winning team move on for pastures new.
In football as in life you have to keep moving forward and we need to embrace our current difficulties with the strength of character and determination that saw us regularly surprise pundits in during our time in the top flight.
Forgetting the tribulations of our current managerial merry-go-round we need to get behind the current manager until the end of the season.
Malky Mackay has a good history at Championship level and, putting aside the FA charge baggage, he is the best candidate for on the field matters to take the football club forward.
James Perch and James McClean aside there isn't a player in our first team squad who is performing to the level that his wage packet demands.
Under no circumstances should this be the managers fault when he is looking after a host of well paid professional players.
Running down the dquad list we have too many players coming toward the end of their career or on a downward spiral. Players approaching 30 years of age who aren't excited by, nor even slightly motivated by, the prospect of a Championship survival battle.
Scott Carson, Andrew Taylor, Liam Ridgewell, Ben Watson, Callum McManaman and Don Cowie are the sorts of names who spring to mind.
These are players who should be fighting at the top end of the table but through their own inability or lack of desire to perform have led the Latics to the wrong end of the table.
Adam Forshaw's old club, Brentford, were only promoted from League One last season and despite having a team of youth combined with inexpensively acquired journeymen are flying high in fifth place in the table.
The difference is budgets can be equated along the lines of a Tottenham or Liverpool vs Wigan Athletic, and we all know the common outcome of that situation.
Since our relegation from the top flight we have put up with below par performances and sorry excuses from a current crop of players who should have the ability and the desire to be performing at the top end of the table.
It is not the manager's fault that these players continually perform to sub-standard levels and our players need to take a good look in the mirror before running out the face Blackburn on Saturday.
The upside of all our departures is that this should free up some funds and squad space for Malky Mackay to bring in some young and hungry players with the desire to get us out of our current situation.
The Championship is a division often settled by desire over skill. Brentford are an excellent example as the Bees continue to fly high in the division without a star name in the line up and after losing their most talented midfielder in the summer.
Ipswich can be considered the same and their visit to the DW early this season was a perfect illustration of a determined team triumphing over the pampered princesses of talent.
The Championship is what it is. It is a tough division and you have to fight and battle for each and every point. Talent is often replaced by determination and the will to win. Until we are able to get passion coursing through the veins of the players and supporters we aren't going to start picking up results.