Bryan Hamilton took charge of Wigan Athletic FC during the 1985-86 season and his first and only season in charge at the club was a huge success. Wigan were in emphatic form through out the campaign and they finished the season off in forth place, narrowly missing out on promotion. Mike Newell and Eamonn O’Keefe were in emphatic form through out the season. They also enjoyed a fine run in the FA Cup, eventually crashing out of the tournament in the forth round, losing against top flight club, Southampton, suffering a 3-0 defeat. Colin Methven left the club at the end of the season after making a record 296 league appearances for the club.
The 1986-87 season was arguably their finest during the 20th century as their new manager, Ray Mathias led the club to new heights. Wigan were outstanding in the league and narrowly missed out on automatic promotion, finishing the season off in forth position. They had their finest ever FA Cup run, reaching the quarter finals of the competition. They agonisingly lost 2-0 against Leeds United. Bobby Campbell proved to be an inspirational signing as he was outstanding for the club during his debut season at the club.
Wigan enjoyed another fine league season the following year as they finished the season off with a seventh place finish, narrowly missing out on the play offs. They met Luton Town in the second round of the Littlewoods cup, a team that went on to win the competition that year and lost the encounter 5-2 on aggregate. John Butler left the club at the end of the season, moving to Stoke City for £75,000.
The 1988-89 season was not a great one for the club as they finished the season off in a poor 17th place. The also endure two painful cup competitions, crashing out of the first round in both the FA Cup and League Cup, suffering defeats against Hartlepool and Preston North End respectively.
Bryan Hamilton took charge at the club towards the start of the 1989-90 season and sold Paul Beesley to Leyton orient during the first few weeks of the season, breaking the record transfer fee received for a player of £175,000. Wigan started the season off miserably, going 12 matches without a victory, they improved dramatically, however a slump of ten defeats in their final 17 matches brought the club perilously close to the drop. The 1989-90 Wigan side included players like, Phil Hughes, Bryan Griffiths, Phil Daley, Andy Pilling, Neill Rimmer, Peter Atherton, Joe Parkinson, Allen Tankard and Steve Senior.