Sports Editor Tony Bugby brings us the latest from Oldham Athletic.
ANOTHER MEMORABLE FA Cup campaign has masked the fact that Latics are involved in a relegation battle in Sky Bet League One.
Now that the latest cup adventure is over, Latics must refocus because their main goal is ensuring they remain in the third tier of English football.
While Latics were enjoying cup success, it coincided with a worrying slump in their league form since the end of November.
Latics have failed to win in their last six league matches – three draws, three defeats – and are only clear of the bottom four by virtue of a superior goal difference to Tranmere Rovers and Crewe Alexandra.
January, which began with a New Year’s Day home defeat against Shrewsbury Town, is likely to have a huge bearing on their eventual destiny.
Four of their five remaining games in January are against clubs chasing promotion which illustrates how challenging the month will be.
First they are at home on Saturday to bottom-of-the-table Stevenage who won’t be pushovers as they were cup giantkillers on Saturdayfollowing their surprise victory at Championship club Doncaster Rovers.
That is followed by road trips to Walsall and Port Vale, two teams which are on the fringe of the play-off places.
And the month is rounded off by home games against top-six teams Peterborough United and Wolves.
Looking back to the FA Cup exploits, there was a great buzz of excitement when Latics drew Liverpool for the third successive year.
Though there was no repeat of last season’s memorable win at Boundary Park, Latics produced a highly creditable display at Anfield before bowing out following a 2-0 defeat. They sold their entire allocation of 5,755 tickets.
Perhaps most important of all, though, was the crowd of over 44,000 which will produce a pay day of at least £350,000, a huge sum, as club like Latics find it increasingly hard to survive financially.
