The Latics fought out a 0-0 draw with neighbours Bury on Saturday in a game of few chances and manager John Sheridan thought the result was fair.
He admitted, “Bury were the better team in the first half and we were the better team in the second half. It was a typical derby. Both teams knew the importance of not losing the game. We are at home so I expect us to win the game. Bury made it hard for us but I didn’t think we got going in the first half. Credit to the players again, we have got a clean sheet again but the problem is scoring goal. We need to pick the right pass and players don’t make the right runs. You can only tell them and work on it during the week, which we did, but it didn’t work out. We had a go in the second half but if truth be told, there isn’t a lot to talk about in the game.”
“The plus point is that we haven’t lost any ground on Bury. One or two results didn’t go our way but it’s going to be like this throughout the rest of the season. If you were to ask me now if I could take four points from the two games, Bury and Oxford at home, then I would have taken them so Tuesday is now a must win for me. If we would have won today, then I would have accepted a draw on Tuesday night but it’s important we keep ticking over and try and win Tuesday. We gifted Bury one or two chances in the second half through our naivety but we have come away with a clean sheet again. We work hard to keep clean sheets but you have got to put the ball in the back of the net. Rob Hunt was 50/50 for the game. He could have possibly played but I didn’t want to risk him. I wouldn’t like him to go out, play and then miss the next four or five games so I think he will be okay for Tuesday. It was a precaution for a hamstring injury but I just felt if I risked him and he went down then I would be gutted to lose him for four or five games.”