Royle happy to be back

Manager Joe Royle has spoken about the reasons why he returned for a second spell at Boundary Park. Had the Latics not been in such a strong position in the league the 59 year old may not have taken the job as he said, "I don't think there would have been much point at this stage of my career. We have a great chance and I have been thrown an opportunity to be at Wembley in May which is fantastic. It was an easy decision to make when I was asked to return and it was always 'yes' and never 'maybe'. The club has always been warm and very special to me. We have had some great times here and I am very aware of the warnings about second-time around. I think coming here for nine games takes that away as it is simply a short-term fix."

"The strengths are that we are only one point outside the play-offs and have a nine-game season left to get back into the top six. We have the basis of a side which has beaten and drawn against the top sides in the division, so there are good players here who have handled this division. Obviously they are having a bit of a lull at the moment. I have come in initially as a quick fix and, hopefully, I can give it a kick-start in the remaining nine games."

"I am looking forward to getting back into management because I have missed the Saturday dose of dug-out fever. It will be nice to have that again. The national manager (Fabio Capello) - a man I played against for England - is older than me, Arsene Wenger is in his late fifties and there are a lot of good old violins out there. It wasn't about contracts. We talked for minutes about the financial side and for hours about football so that has never been an issue. I have been thrown an opportunity to be at Wembley in May which is fantastic. It was an easy decision to make. This club has always been very special to me."