Wigan’s Gary Caldwell breaks down in tears while reflecting on Kevin Miller’s death

Wigan’s Gary Caldwell breaks down in tears in his post-match press conference while reflecting on goalkeeping coach Kevin Miller’s death.

He had died unexpectedly on Tuesday earlier this week with his former clubs and those who knew and worked with him speaking of their respect for Miller, how much of a joy he was to have around and how he made everyone smile.

In light of the news, Gary Caldwell was able to grief, with pre-match media duties cancelled and instead would speak following the Wycombe game.

Here’s how this week has affected Gary Caldwell. Press conference was halted while he composed. Was given the option of leaving it, but insisted on carrying on. Wanted to talk about the game for the fans and about Kevin Miller for the family. #wafc

*posted with Gary’s permission pic.twitter.com/rfPhG3k9J0

— Paul Kendrick (@PKendrickWIG) September 19, 2026

Caldwell said to Latics TV:

“It’s been a horrendous week, and a day I never want to happen again. As you’ve seen since we announced it, an amazing human being, a brilliant goalkeeper in his day, a brilliant coach, but I think everything I’ve seen has shown what a person he was.

“It’s tough. We didn’t train on Wednesday. You never know what to do in these situations; you never want these situations. You try and do the best you can, try and make the best decisions you can.

“The week has been horrendous. We’ve lost somebody really important, but as I said, his family have lost somebody even more important, and a special, special person has gone.

“I thought the stadium early on was a really strange place. Obviously we had everything at the start of the game, remembering Kev, and I thought we did that really well as a football club. I can’t fault the players’ effort; I thought we gave everything. I thought we kept trying; I thought we kept going. It just didn’t look like we could create enough in the final third.

“There’s a long season ahead that we have to keep improving, keep getting better, and I’m sure we will do that. We’ve had a good performance last week. It’s not always perfect. When you lose, everything isn’t always poor. When I get a chance, I’ll assess the game, and we’ll get back to work when we come back on Monday.”

Fans gave their thoughts after Wigan’s Gary Caldwell breaks down in tears while reflecting on Kevin Miller’s death…

@allaboutlatics: genuinely horrible to see this 💔 great bloke Caldwell is, some things are bigger than football, RIP Kev🕊️

@HeritagePodWAFC: Today wasn’t the best result, but just sit and watch this. What did people expect? We either won 4-0 today or this happened. Fair play to everyone at #wafc that turned up today. This week must have been awful.

@jack_denn1s006: Can’t imagine what it’s been like for Wigan this week, fair play for carrying on with the conference and I’m not a fan of the mic being shoved in his face – all the best for the season Wigan ❤️

@Yewerzonx: I hope he can feel better eventually, rest in peace Kevin.

@WiganAthDebate: I have unlimited time for greaving people with a heart of gold like this man, a true warrior with a good heart, we’ll recover from this and come out better in the end, it’s what we do 💙 #WAFC

@terrythomas1: So sad to see. We as supporters don’t see what happens beyond the playing field and our reactions are based on that. When you watch that clip you can see how hard Kevin’s passing hit everyone who knew him. This moment really brings the grief home 💙

@becckk_: Sad to see him like this and credit to him for turning up today, especially to media. Hopefully he takes the time and does what he needs to help with his grief. #wafc

@WafcHugh: That’s just painful to see 💔

@GaryWAFC: So sad, times like this we should realise that football isn’t all that. The performance wasn’t great but they’ve lost a mate.

@faz42: Should never have played today, I find it really hard to believe that anyone at the club wanted to play looking in from the outside. Fucking heartbreaking 😔 #wafc

@ScottPalfrey: More than a manager, Gary is a people first person who cares deeply about everyone. We all miss Kev so dearly at Exeter and can’t imagine how Gary must be feeling ❤️

@SamArmitage304: Having to do your job mere days after suddenly losing a good friend, in any job, must be so difficult, let alone one as high-pressure as Gary’s. No one can determine how grief affects others, and I hope people can be empathetic when discussing the game today

@weare72cast: Huge credit to Gary, his staff and Joe Whitworth. They’ve had the week from hell, but they’ve been a credit to themselves and Wigan Athletic. 👏 There really is so much more to life than football. ❤️ #WAFC #ECFC #EFL