After Lee Johnson’s unbeaten start to his managerial career came to an abrupt end, Oldham Athletic captain James Wesolowski is confident they can still stay up.
Latics lost 2-1 to Carlisle United at Boundary Park on Saturday meaning only goal difference is keeping them above the League One relegation zone.
Having replaced Dean Furman as captain the Aussie believes everyone must work together, despite their first-half horror show against the Cumbrians, to ensure Oldham survive.
“I am sure that if we all stick together, and the fans stay behind us, we will get out of trouble,” said Wesolowski.
“It is not the first time this season when we have had an awful first half and it has taken half time and for everybody to have a go at one another for us to click into action.
“That was the case again and, as players, we have to make sure we are mentally ready to start games as a lot are won by the team which scores first as stats show.
“At the end of the day, we know that is not good enough and we need to sort things out and learn from it.”
Carlisle established a two goal cushion before the break forcing Johnson into the bold move of a triple substitution when play resumed.
This included bringing on youngsters David Mellor and Kirk Millar who despite rarely featuring for the first team impressed Wesolowski.
“Kirk is enthusiastic and sometimes that is needed to get us going and he did a very good job along with David Mellor,” added the 25-year-old.
“David came in and did a top-notch job in midfield.
“Kirk did well and is a promising young player.
“You can see in training he has serious ability and it is a case of him transferring that from the training pitch to games.”
Having missed one opportunity to pull away from the drop zone, Oldham will get another chance when they travel to Deepdale to face Preston North End tomorrow.
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