Boss ponders fresh impact

OFF YOU GO . . . referee Stephen Martin shows Athletic forward Jonson Clarke-Harris the red card for deliberate handball.

SQUAD strengthening could be on the agenda again for Athletic manager Lee Johnson as he prepares for the visit of Rotherham without two key players.

Jonson Clarke-Harris’s red card for handball against Preston will see the striker serve his ban at Boundary Park tomorrow.

David Worrall is also unavailable in line with the conditions of his loan. He was a key player in Saturday’s game against Preston.

Johnson admitted he is considering bringing someone new into the side: “We will see if we can do that, if we have the time and the money to do that, and then decide,” he said.

Any new player fielded by Athletic would become the 38th used by Athletic in 2013-14. The window for emergency loans is open until March 27.

For the players who failed to fire against North End until it was too late, the challenge is to bounce back quickly.

“You can’t feel sorry for yourselves, can you? There is no way you can do that,” Johnson added.

“You have got to be a man, sleep on it and wake up lively again. It is important we don’t have shrinking violets.”

One aspect of the Preston game which pleased Johnson was the fans’ response to a request for a better atmosphere inside the ground.

He said: “They were brilliant and I thank them for that. I enjoyed the drum and they were going to sing win, lose or draw and that was fantastic.”

ATHLETIC’S home game with Sheffield United, which was due to take place on Saturday, April 12, is to be rescheduled due to the Blades’ continuing involvement in the FA Cup.