Head Coach Dino Maamria was delighted with the 1-0 away win at Newport County on Saturday. He was quick to praise his team and the fans and was also pleased with the way Zak Mills struck the only goal of the game, his first for Oldham.
Dino said, “It was a fantastic performance, it was a big win for us. We needed it. There's been improvements over the weeks, bit by bit, but to come here to a team that's known for their ferocity at home, the conditions showed a different side to us. It's work in progress and that's more like a team that I'm trying to build at Oldham. Where we showed resilience and desire to defend well with those long balls, that type of League Two football and when we got the ball down we looked a threat as well. I think overall it's been a good day and I'm pleased with our fans, I'm so delighted for them. I actually dedicate this win to them because it's a long way for them to come here, to keep backing this team so those three points are for them.”
“We used last week's rest the right way. We worked on a different shape this week and the lads bought into it and we looked really good. It fitted us well the shape and we dealt with them with ease especially in the second-half, I don't think they got in our box once. But I was pleased with the lads application. It was a good afternoon for us. It was tough, as I kept the rest of the lads warming up but the team as an eleven, I couldn't change it. We were doing well and I didn't want to upset that. It's good to have Missilou and Wheater back and it's good to have Zak back as well. We've still got two or three out and hopefully when we get those lads back in we can be better and stronger for it. Everybody who came here to see us, saw we defended as a team and we went after them as a team. At the start we pressed them high, rushed their clearances and made them predictable and dealt with the long ball and attacking threats they've got. So we limited them. I don't think many teams will come to Newport and produce that performance, so it's a good day.”
“The first thing I had to work on was the fitness level of the lads which was low, then the personality and character of the team and building the resilience as well. That's again a work in progress. But probably in the last week or so I've been working more on the shape of the team. We played a different way against Newport and the focus has been on that. But always the mental side of the game as well. I have to give them the belief that they can come to places like Newport, where nobody gave us hope. I had to give the belief to our players that we can come here and get the three points and we did that.”