Oldham manager Lee Johnson has asked fans to abandon any Christmas shopping sprees and instead come down to support his side for their FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town.
Oldham are looking to recreate their cup heroics of last season, where they earned widespread acclaim for knocking out Premier League team Liverpool and giving Everton a return leg scare.
Johnson knows that if they are to have a repeat of those feats, home support in the early rounds will be crucial, even with people’s wallets stretched this time of year.
“If your partner’s trying to bully you into Christmas shopping, then you’ve got to be strong and come down to Boundary Park,” said Johnson.
“We need the whole town to come out and help us in this one because we know how big it is for the club.
“Let’s all come out in force, sing your hearts out and do our utmost to get in the hat.”
A great lover of the cup draw buzz, Johnson is not yet ready to end his love affair with his first FA Cup campaign as a manager.
With that in mind, he is not underestimating Saturday’s opposition, despite their being in the bottom half of the league below.
“They are a threat, they’re quite a big club, are Mansfield,” the football league’s youngest manager told reporters.
“They’ve signed a lot of players and have got a big squad, so I think it’ll be a tough game.”
Following an unbeaten November, in which they knocked out league leaders Wolves to progress to the second round of the cup, Johnson expects more of the same from his talented young squad.
“We had a really good November and let’s hope it’s just as good in December,” he added.
Having already drawn with Bradford in the league last weekend, Saturday’s visit of Mansfield could keep their now seven-game run going.
Image courtesy of Sky News via YouTube, with thanks.
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