Latics' boss Lee Johnson is apologetic after his team lost the last three games and is looking for a way to restore the confidence of his players. After the embarrassing 4-0 home drubbing by relegation haunted Yeovil they travelled to Franchise FC and were on the receiving end of the biggest ever win, a 7-0 pasting, for the franchise team. It is horrendous that the team have become a shambolic shadow of the enthusiastic group of players that won 3-0 away at Rochdale to push themselves into a play-off position.
Johnson said, “We have to go back to what we are about now — our DNA, if you like — and play players who will not capitulate like they did here (at Franchise), which is very disappointing. I will have to take this one on the chin. Of course, I am very apologetic to everybody. We came up against a very, very good side who have exposed us and our flaws and personality at the moment. I never thought one of my sides could get beaten 4-0, let alone 7-0, with the players I try to bring in and their personalities. I thank our fans. They have been fantastic. We have to close ranks now and anyone will be happily accepted who is willing to give us their support.
“I feel, given our league position, it is possible to turn it around. And what you can trust is, I will work non-stop as I do all hours of every day to try to put the last two games right. I knew it would be difficult to come here and get a performance, after such a poor display against Yeovil. I tried to pick a team that could be dangerous on the counter attack and be a threat with our pace. It didn’t work out like that for a number of reasons. But basically, I want the players to get back to the kid in them. To think, why do we play football? We do it because we enjoy ourselves and get on the ball. We all work so hard in our careers to get to this point. These boys are the top 0.0001% of the population who play football. They are here for a reason.
“They are here to play for a fantastic club, Oldham Athletic, that has been in the doldrums for quite a while now. We believe, still after a game like that, that we can get things right and push ourselves to the point where we can come back. But, without doubt, there are some players out there whose confidence is at an all-time low in their careers — which is unbelievable, because three weeks ago we had the elation of the derby at Rochdale and 4,000 fans cheering us on. What do we do? I have to close ranks and bring in anyone who can help in our plight to get the players’ confidence back. We have a game against Crewe on Boxing Day and we are going to need everybody. We will need everybody if we go 1-0 down, if someone kicks it out of play, or if someone falls over their own feet. That’s what happens when you are low on confidence as a footballer. We have done all the tactical stuff, but here there were things happening that were almost comical. As a club we have to rally round these players as they are the only ones who can put it right on the pitch. They haven’t become bad players overnight.”