Beresford praises fans

Last updated : 23 October 2007 By Dave Moore
The Latics new on-loan goalkeeper Marlon Beresford was full of praise for Athletic's travelling band of loyal supporters after the draw at Huddersfield and thanked them for helping him to settle into the team. Around 2,500 Latics fans made the short trip over the Pennines and Beresford was impressed with their enthusiasm.

He said, "I got a great reception and was amazed by the support. There were thousands of our fans there. The fans were brilliant and made what was a good derby atmosphere. The only disappointing thing was we couldn't get the three points for them. I thought the game went okay from my point of view, and like I said the only disappointment was we couldn't get all the points. The first half was strange. In my 20 years in the game I don't think I've had many halves that quiet. I think I touched the ball once in 25 minutes! It's not too difficult to keep focused, because I knew that eventually we would come under pressure. It's natural when you're playing away from home. Then I made a couple of good saves which always help the confidence and I was pleased with my second half, although it's always disappointing to concede a goal. I've not played much football this season so to get a good 90 minutes under my belt was good for confidence."

Talking of tonight's Johnston Paint trophy game at Doncaster he went on, "It's not a competition I've played too many games in, to be honest. I played in it a couple of years ago when the competition was under a different name, but it's fairly new to me. We want to win no matter the competition, and we'll be going over to Doncaster looking to win the game."