He said, “My target before the season was to score 20 goals as a bare minimum, but hopefully more. If I’d been fit from the word go and playing in most of our games, the aim was more like 25. Obviously things haven’t started too well, but I always feel capable of scoring and there’s no way I’m changing my mind. Last season I managed 19 goals from 32 starts (with Stockport, Sheffield United, Huddersfield and Oldham), so there’s plenty of time to make up for the games I’ve missed. The injury stopped me in my tracks, but I’ve been injured before and been able to start scoring as soon as I’ve come back. Hopefully that will happen again. The 20-goal target can definitely be achieved if I get back in the side.”It's all good news for the Latics as Beckett was the main reason that Athletic avoided the drop last season. Beckett looked his old lethal self when he came on for the last 20 minutes of Saturday's game and was unlucky not to score on two occasions.
After the game Beckett said, “I’ll need a few games before I’m back to my best, but the rehab work has gone well. It’s seven weeks since I was injured and the physio has done well to help me recover. A couple more weeks out and I would have missed a quarter of the season, so it’s great to be involved with all the lads again. I’ll be behind with my fitness after missing a bit of pre-season, but I’d done a lot of work at Sheffield United before coming here. When you are waiting to find your feet, you can sometimes get by on enthusiasm and maybe the nous you’ve picked up down the years. I don’t expect to go straight back in the team, but I’ll be ready to score goals as soon as I get the chance.”