The Oldham Athletic owner, Abdallah Lemsagam, has written an official 'thank you' to caretaker manager Pete Wild, who kept the club ticking-over with great success since the firing of Frankie Bunn. The official statement is as follows:
I'm writing to everyone to show my gratitude to one particular man over the past six weeks at Oldham Athletic.
On December 27th I came to Pete Wild and asked if he would like to take charge of the team on a caretaker basis. Pete has been a valuable asset over the past six weeks and his passion around the club, in training and on the touchline has rubbed off on everyone.
Although we have a new man in charge, I feel it’s important to come out today to thank Pete for everything he has done from the Port Vale game to the Crawley Town game. He guided the team to one of the best wins in this club’s history when we beat Fulham at their own ground which are memories that I think we will all remember for a long time. Not only has Pete been in charge of first team affairs, but he has also been heavily involved in the academy which sums up the kind of hard-working man he is, and I cannot speak highly enough of him, he is a credit to this club and I’m happy he managed to fulfil a childhood dream of managing this club. I would like to confirm that Pete has gone back to his academy role and remains a vital part of this club.
Behind the scenes in general, we have staff who are all pulling in the same direction in order to keep this club running smoothly and I understand how much effort they put into the day-to-day running of the club, so I am thankful for every one of my staff. We are one big family at Oldham Athletic, not one person here is bigger than the club which includes myself, my door is always open for a chat for anyone. As we look to the future with Paul Scholes now in charge, I believe we have a group of playing and non-playing staff that will take this club forward.
Finally, as we look on a season of ups and downs there is one thing that never changes and that is the support of the fans. Your support this season has been unbelievable and I’m aware I have said this a lot in the past, but it’s true, you are the heartbeat of the club and without you the club is nothing. As we enter a new era at Oldham Athletic, I’m sure your support will remain the same and hopefully that support will be rewarded in the near future, starting with three points tonight against Yeovil Town.
Hope to see you all at tonight’s game.
Abdallah