Latics boss David Dunn is hopeful that his players will build on the victory at Swindon Town on Tuesday and record back to back victories for the first time this season. It was Dunn's first victory as a a manager and he hopes it will be the first of many.
The manager said, “I shouldn’t have to do too much motivating ahead of the game. It should make my job easier on that side of things. It’s a local derby and it’s a fantastic game for everyone. Players should go out there and want to prove to the local fans what good footballers they are and how much it means to them. That’s what we want to play for. We want to play football in atmospheres like that. We should all enjoy the intensity, rivalry between the fans and who will come out on top? It will be the team with the most desire, do the basics right because that’s important in derby games, and we need to work hard like we have been doing. If we do that, we stand a chance.”
“I know Keith Hill well. He was at Blackburn when I was a young lad coming through. He’s done a fantastic job there and I’ve got a lot of time for him. It will be a tough game. He always has competitive teams and I’m sure they will want to beat us. We have got to do what we’ve been doing since I’ve come in, though. We have to carry on with the same commitment and desire that they have been showing, sticking to the game plan and carrying out what we tell them to do. Ever since I’ve come in, I’ve had my ideas and I know what I want to achieve. I don’t want to get too carried away with the last couple of performances because I was quite pleased before the Scunthorpe game and we all know what happened there. As long as we maintain a high level of performance and keep our standards at that level then we will be alright.”