With the January transfer window finally closed, attention across the Premier League shifted to the players who had arrived, and the changes their clubs hoped would make a difference in the upcoming games of the season.
Some teams had spent heavily, forking out summer window numbers to fix their issues while others had waited until the final days to address their weaknesses.
Still, a few had chosen to stand still, trusting the squads that had brought them this far.
For Wigan Athletic, however, the scrutiny was different.
Their new signings had arrived at a club sitting at the top of the table, with the title no longer an impossible dream whispered among supporters.
Every match mattered now, and every decision Dawson made would be judged against the question that had followed Wigan throughout their remarkable season.
Could they actually keep this going?
Brighton and Hove Albion would be the first to find out.
