Of course Whelan was formerly a Blackburn Rovers player, famously suffering a broken leg in the FA Cup Final of 1960.
Now, following on from the disappointing performance against Fulham at the weeked, the DW Sports owner is hoping that his side can show what they are made of.
Whelan said: "Blackburn played very well and Ron [Clayton] would have been proud of them because they fought hard and should have won.
"I have been talking to our lads and said 'you didn't fight at Fulham but you are going to have to fight at Blackburn'. We are in for a tough match. Our lads will have to be up for it.
"When we came up everyone said we would go down in the first year. This is now our sixth season in the Premier League and it is tough again.
"Wigan are one of a number of clubs whose primary objective is survival. We will fight and hopefully continue our run in the league."