Lee Hughes is raring to go and he received a great reception from the travelling band of Latics fans when he was introduced at Burnley. He said, "I'm fitter than I've ever been and I'm ready to play. Now that I'm here, I can't wait to start playing football again. This has been a long time coming and, to be honest, I would get out there straight away if I could. I don't think I'll need long to gain sharpness because I did running and weights every day in prison and I also played for the football team. I got quite a few goals for them and I know I've still got the touch, you never lose the knack of scoring.""I won't be able to enjoy myself the way I used to because I have caused grief in people's lives. No matter what happens on the pitch, even if I score, I'll be thinking about the families involved. I've got to live with it every day of my life. It's a dreadful thing, I know, and I am deeply sorry. Sorry isn't good enough when you've done what I did, but hopefully people will help me get on with my life and my career. Hopefully my family will settle quickly as well because my wife and two children have moved up to the area this week and the kids are loving it around here. I realise a lot of difficult things lie ahead, but I would like to prove what I can do as a footballer. When I was scoring lots of goals for Kidderminster, people questioned whether I could handle the step up to the Championship with West Brom. I proved them wrong by scoring 34 goals in one season, so this is another challenge for me to take."
"I'm really looking forward to starting, and just to get out on a training pitch with the rest of the lads will be something special. I hope people get behind myself and the team to give us plenty of encouragement while we go for promotion. I understand people will say different things about me, but it's something I've got to deal with. I'm here to do a job, and my first target is to get on the pitch scoring goals for Oldham. I've been out of the game for a long time, so I'm grateful for this chance and I'll do everything I can to repay the club. Whatever happens, I've got to deal with it. I made the biggest mistake of my life, and now I want to get my life and career back on track."
Managing Director Simon Corney added, "In January we were thinking about selling our main striker, Chris Porter, and we were looking for a replacement. Simon Blitz mentioned that Lee Hughes must be coming out quite soon, so we started to make a few enquiries. If Lee was a roofer, a tiler or something else, it wouldn't be an issue that he has come out and got a job. That's what it is, a job. He is on less than a tenth of his wages at West Brom and he has taken the opportunity to go back into his profession."