Paul Scholes, pictured with club owner Abdallah Lemsagam is unveiled as Oldham Athletic manager at Boundary Park, Oldham on Monday 11th February 2019. (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Consistency is key for Oldham Athletic, says captain Conlon
Tom Conlon has warned that Oldham Athletic cannot afford to dip below the high standards they have set if they want to stay on a roll.
But while captain Conlon believes they have put in some impressive performances, and shown resilience when required, to establish this run he warned lowering the bar will have consequences.
“I think we’ve been defensively strong but all it takes is coming off it a little bit and we’re bang in trouble.
“You see the Aldershot game, for example. We weren’t right that game and we got punished.
“It’s about keeping our standards high, not get carried away and we go again.
“There’s nothing more to it, that’s what we’ll be doing.
“We’ve felt a real good group since the start of pre-season, a real good togetherness. It’s been clear how we’ve been going to play from the off, and I think that’s been the difference from last season.
“We know what we’ve got to do now, we know how to win games and we know we’re solid at the back. We are always in with a chance but we’ve got to keep our standards high, not get carried away and keep doing what we’re currently doing.”
Latics came out on top against one of the top teams in the division in midweek, thanks to Fondop’s fabulous ninth-minute volley.
On Saturday they have a televised game at Ebbsfleet (kick-off 5.30pm), who sit bottom of the table with just one win and two draws from their first 11 matches.
“I think it’s really important that after beating Forest Green at home – one of the better teams in the league – we go to Ebbsfleet and we’ve got to back that up now, and that will be the mindset going forward,” said Conlon.
“Forest Green are a really good team, the gaffer said before any ball was kicked that these were one of the better teams in the league and I’d say he’s right.
“We were aware of that but I thought we dealt with it well.
“They started the second half well, we had to get through the storm for about 15-20 minutes where they were on top. I thought we regrouped really well, the gaffer changed it to 4-4-2 for us and I thought that helped us. But you’re going to get moments like that in a game where you’ve got to stick together as a group, as a team, get through it as well as you can, I thought we did that really well and came out deserved winners in my opinion.”
