Paul Scharner: 'It was in my mind that Wigan might do something special in the FA Cup'

Scharner rejoined the club on loan from Hamburg in January

Paul Schraner asked for a large FA Cup bonus to be included at the expense of his basic salary as 'it was in my mind the club might do something special in the cup'. (AFP\Getty)

Until this season Wigan had never been past the FA Cup quarter-finals, and only reached that stage once, so what possessed Paul Scharner, back in January, to think they would win it this year?

Scharner rejoined the club on loan from Hamburg in the transfer window. When it came to negotiating his terms he asked for a tidy FA Cup bonus to be included, sacrificing some of his basic wage to do so. Wigan had just reached the fifth round, and been drawn away to Huddersfield Town, but still had plenty to do, especially with Roberto Martinez fielding weakened teams.

"It was amazing that little Wigan is winning the FA Cup 2013," he said, "but when I came back to the club it was in my mind that the we might do something special in the Cup.

"I thought this might be the last season where I would get a chance to play at Wembley, because it was still being built when we played the league cup final in 2006, and we played in Cardiff. I thought why not dream of Wembley - and make it a golden day all round with a nice financial bonus?

Scharner is the first Austrian to win the FA Cup. "That's why I carried an Austrian scarf [on the lap of honour]. I cried for five minutes on the field. It was so emotional it was unbelievable."

"As I said before the game, playing the cup final was like going on holiday - just get rid of the negative pressure from the relegation fight and enjoy the football. I think we enjoyed the day. I'm so pleased for the fans, the club, the town, the chairman, it's amazing.

"It would be an emotional explosion if we stay up as well. We still have it in our hands. We need to win the last two games. We need to treat it like two FA Cup Finals. If we play like this, then of course we can stay up."