Football Season Guide

Oldham endured a dreadful second half to their previous season and will once again have one of the smaller playing budgets in the league. But in manager Paul Dickov they have a determined character who has shown in his first season that he will put up with nothing less than maximum effort from his young squad. He was not slow to chop and change his team and anyone who did not fit the mould was quickly shown the door. Dickov will again be reliant largely on youth and the club have done well at bringing younger players quickly through the ranks, although that has often been a product of circumstance. The Latics struggled badly in front of goal and Dickov’s main job ahead of the new season is to find someone capable of scoring 20 goals. He needs to ensure his team has the right blend of youth and experience as his team seemed to lose all their confidence in the second half of the 2010/11 season. He often stated that younger players did tend to give very up-and-down performances and it is his job to impart his experience and enthusiasm to his players.