The Latics put their off-field woes to the back of their minds on Saturday as they pummelled Newport County 5-0 at Boundary Park. The goalscorers were Rowe (2), Dearnley, Hamer and Smith in what was a very entertaining game for the home fans. The Newport manager Michael Flynn was scathing at his team and admitted that he’s got just 12 games to save his job.
Flynn said, “We weren’t good enough. We were second in every department today and we were played off the park. We didn’t get close to a player all afternoon and they could have scored eight or maybe nine, if I’m honest, so 5-0 was getting off lightly. Goals change games and the goals we conceded were dreadful as a team. There’s only one player who comes out of that performance with any credit and that’s Dale Gorman. He’s the only one. Other than that, it was dreadful. I’ll take full responsibility for it. They all say, ‘you put the team out’ and, yeah, I put the team out and it’s all my fault today. We’ve got a free week now and we’ve got to do something.”
“We’ve got another 12 games and it’s a different 12 games now for me. We’re three years on from when I first came in. I wanted to make an impression and show that I could do the job. I’ve done that and now I’ve got to dig in and try to keep hold of my job for 12 games. I’m not one of these to shy away from it. You’re all going to ask me in a week or two and I’ve got 12 games probably to convince the board that I’m the one to keep in charge.”