Latics new manager Lee Johnson was determined for his team to entertain the crowd with vibrant, attacking football and the home game against Hartlepool United was his first opportunity to impress the fickle Oldham public.
Johnson had watched several recent games and went into the first game with the following attitude, “I want us to be defensively sound and organised but at the same time, let’s whip up the crowd. I was at the Bournemouth game and nothing did that for the first half-hour. The successful teams I have been in, have played at a high tempo with a pressing game. Getting the crowd going makes the players better; there’s a knock-on effect.”
“I would like to bring in someone with experience and who has been there and done it to lean on, but I want a good coach who will spend a lot of time with the young players. We have to make sure we are making a conscious effort to improve these players at a dramatic rate, because young players improve very quickly.”
Cliff Byrne, Paul Gerrard and Tony Philliskirk will be assisting the new manager as he settles into Boundary Park.