Latics midfielder Dan Gardner told the Oldham Chronicle that he feels that relegation at the end of last season was not as desperate as the fans had thought over the summer.
Gardner confessed, “It could be a blessing in disguise that we’re in this league now. We’re doing well, the fans are turning out in their numbers, and everyone around the place is happy and upbeat. The management team and the players are striving hard for success. There is a difference between Leagues One and Two in my view. Having said that, though, I don’t know exactly what that is. Whether it’s better players or just fitness, I don’t know, but there are better teams in League One. Obviously League One is going to be better in quality, but apart from that I can’t quite put my finger on why it does seem stronger.”
“The gaffer has us at it every day in training. We’re fitter than most teams we’ve played so far and some of the players I’ve come up against have been cramping up after 70 or 80 minutes and we’re still going. That was highlighted in the recent win against Crawley. We were still going in the last minute and were rewarded with a winner. There’s also good players coming off the bench and players coming back from injury – we are looking good at the moment. Everyone just works so hard for each other, and we all want the same thing. Everyone else says it – ‘oh, we’ve got a good group’ – but we have got a good momentum, we’re all willing to work for each other, so hopefully the rewards will come.”