Oldham v Pompey: the opposition view

Jack Byrne, right, in action for Oldham against Peterborough United Picture: Joe Dent

At the start, under John Sheridan, everybody was optimistic about pushing for the play-offs, while some of the players looked very promising.

But, for one reason or another, things didn’t work out with Sheridan and he was sacked in September.

Richie Wellens, a coach working under Sheridan on a voluntary basis, not even paid, took over as caretaker – and all of a sudden he’s the main man.

Since put in charge, there have been some really good results and the Latics presently sit in 19th spot.

Wellens won his opening four matches and was unbeaten after seven, but then they went on a bit of a bad run again.

Recently, they have picked themselves up once more and are unbeaten in five.

There have been some positive results against clubs in and around them, so things are looking healthier now.

The style of football under Wellens has been good. He was a silky playmaker with Blackpool, Leicester and Doncaster and you can see his influence on this Oldham midfield.

Jack Byrne is very much in his image, always wanting the ball, can knock it around, plays in tight spaces and has a cracking shot on him. He has really caught the eye.

As a team, everything is on the deck and good to watch, despite the state of the pitches, which have kind of hindered his footballing principles.

The players are enjoying their football, they are expressing themselves, you can see it.

Eoin Doyle has been amazing, he really has, and the other players thrive off him, he’s such a goal machine.

He was originally on loan from Preston before Christmas and scored 12 times, but returned to his parent club.

The striker then suffered a blood clot on his shoulder, ruling him out for a couple of months, but Oldham took a gamble and got him back on loan, even though he was unable to play for a while.

On his comeback, he came off the bench to score at Scunthorpe, while last week got an assist as a substitute at Bury.

He cannot do any wrong, he seems to have that Midas touch and now has 15 goals in 23 appearances.

Oldham had a new owner in January, a Moroccan Dubai-based businessman called Abdallah Lemsagam, and he has bankrolled a lot loan signings such as Doyle.

They have such a big squad and are now talking about launching a play-off push next season.