THAT Blues have been here before and are a little older and wiser doesn’t make it any less concerning.

That they have won a cup and were also good enough to finish ninth last season ultimately counts for nothing.

This relegation dogfight is pretty unique in that no-one is cast adrift, no-one up to mid-table is safe. That, at least, is a positive when you’ve just lost to a rival in a classic six-pointer.

There remains time to shake yourself down, shake your results up.

On the flip side, although Blues have been through the relegation wringer previously and have a more capable squad than in previous campaigns, they have struggled to secure that most vital of commodities – victory.

The lack of attacking punch was evident again at Wigan, and Blues’ habit of retreating so far allowed the pressure on them to build and build.

And also, more sloppy goals were conceded.

When that keeps happening, as it has all season, you need to be able to answer at the other end but that has been beyond them, and they are not the kind of team whose DNA lends itself to an end-to-end playground match.

This game was hugely frustrating because Blues got their noses in front through Liam Ridgewell’s carefully-taken sixth-minute goal and had Wigan where they wanted them.

Ridgewell thrust Martin Jiranek’s header in on the full with a precise volley, although he was fractionally offside, which was hard to spot without the benefit of television replays. From then on, the home fans were restless, Wigan’s players uncertain and cowed.

But everything changed once Wigan equalised through Tom Cleverley in the 26th minute.

They gained belief and confidence and Blues not so much fell apart, but morphed into a completely different team.

In the second half, Wigan threw caution to the wind, they drove on and gambled. Blues appeared worryingly timid and unable to combat what came their way.

In the end, the dam burst as Wigan constantly worked too many easy angles in and around the Blues area.

The decider was Maynor Figueroa’s goal in the second minute of stoppage time, another strange one that was lashed from the edge of the box and deceived Ben Foster, although the ball didn’t discernibly swerve in the air.