Beckett said, “This time I am hoping we will be doing the business at the other end of the table. Ronnie Moore knows what it takes to get out of this league and I see no reason why we can't be in a promotion battle. He has been busy throughout the summer and has certainly assembled a squad that could go places. There is quality in there and it will be great to be a part of it. I enjoyed myself when I came out on loan last time and the fans were terriific, really getting behind the team when they needed them. I knew I had no future at Sheffield United when I was transfer listed just after the season ended. The gaffer (Neil Warnock) told me again that I didn't figure in his plans when I went back for pre-season training. I was always hoping the move to Oldham would come off, it was the obvious choice for me.”
“Chris (Killen) is a very good player, big and strong and I can feed off a player like that. We complement each other, he made chances for me and I did for him. If we can stick together I am sure we could get 35 to 40 goals between us and that would go a long way to achieving promotion, or at least getting into the play-offs. I am convinced there are some exciting times to look forward to. It is a good club and deserves to be playing at a higher level. With the quality of players here now it deserves to be in the Championship. Things didn't work out for me at Sheffield United, but I am sure they will at Oldham.”
The Latics almost lost out when Southend came in with an offer that the Latics couldn't match but Beckett turned it down saying, “I have always lived in Sheffield, even when I was single and playing for Chester. I have a young family and it would have been a big wrench to uproot them and move to Southend. I have put their happiness first. When you look at the signings Oldham have made they will make people sit up and take notice of them. I played alongside Andy Liddell at Barnsley and he is a great acquisition. I can see no reason why we cannot make a push for promotion.”
Assistant manager John Breckin added, “Luke is an out-and-out goalscorer at this level as we saw during his loan spell with us last season. And if he can keep scoring we should be at the top half of the table as opposed to being at the other end as we have been for the last two seasons. It looked as though we had been priced out of a deal after Southend came up with an offer we couldn’t get anywhere near. We had started to look elsewhere but when Luke turned down Southend we were able to revive the deal. And it is all credit of the owners and a measure of their ambition and also to the fans who agreed to pay extra money for their tickets to enable us to bring in the players we have.”