Dean Holden has called for unity among his Oldham players ahead of tomorrow’s clash with bottom side Yeovil Town.
The former Oldham Athletic captain took temporary charge at the League One side when ex-manager Lee Johnson left for Barnsley last month.
Oldham were on the wrong end of a 4-0 thrashing against Yeovil in December, but Holden is confident his team can get a result if they approach the game right.
“It’s important to stand together on the pitch and show that you’re a team.
“You saw the subs race on after (Mike) Jones’ goal and at the end they all went up to the fans together.
“That’s the important thing for me because you’ll be successful if you keep that spirit.”
Latics recovered after a 4-0 mauling by Preston North End in Holden’s first game in charge to win 1-0 away to Port Vale in midweek.
Their Somerset opponents, meanwhile, are without a win in five and rooted to the bottom of the table, and so Holden is eyeing a positive result.
“We move on quickly and we’ll spend the day looking at Yeovil. We touched on a few things yesterday but we’ll get together as a group today and look at their strengths and weaknesses and prepare properly,” he said.
“If we go down there with the same mentality we did the other night then we’ll be more than a match for anybody. I would fancy us to get the three points.
“A 1-0 win would do us nicely like it did the other night. It is important we stay solid because it gives you the chance to get the ball back and getting your exciting players in the right areas to score the goals.
“We will look to go down there, remain solid, have a good shape about us and score a few goals.”
Holden began his coaching career at Walsall, where he ended his playing days, before returning to Oldham as a first-team coach.
The football league journeyman admitted he was enjoying his new role as manager, and insisted a team effort was crucial at this stage in the season.
“As I said from day one, I’ll make sure I enjoy it because if I’m enjoying it then I’m giving it everything,” he said.
“I’m learning very quickly, but it’s about keeping the lads right. There are some good footballers in there and they manage themselves well.
“All the staff are working every hour to make sure we have a successful period.”
Main image courtesy of Official OAFC via YouTube, with thanks.
