Latics boss vows to stay upbeat

TRUE TO HIS WORD . . . Darren Kelly insists he will remain positive.

POSITIVITY is being preached by Athletic’s manager Darren Kelly as he sidesteps criticism.

Kelly is now without three key players - suspended Jonathan Forte, injured Liam Kelly and primary centre-forward Jake Cassidy - who has a chipped ankle bone and ligament damage.

And winger Lee Croft missed the Bradford defeat with a tight hamstring.

But if rookie boss Kelly is under pressure to achieve results quickly, his perky demeanour remains unchanged.

The 36 year old says that only six matches into his career as a League One boss, he isn’t about to start throwing his weight around the dressing room.

“My attitude will never change and that’s the type of person I am. I would like to think I am very honest and straight. I am not a ranter and raver. The important thing now is to prepare the players for Peterborough.”

Kelly is concentrating on his men starting matches more positively - beginning with the visit of managerless Posh to Oldham on Saturday.

And he is determined not to rush injured players back early and risk inflicting more damage.

One positive aspect is the return of loan striker Simonas Stankevicius, in action tonight for Lithuania’s under-21s in Serbia.

“We have a great physio in Craig Schofield, who is taking good care of the players and trying to get them out on the pitch as quickly as possible,” said Kelly, who might also benefit from the imminent return of right-back Brian Wilson.

“We will see how things work for Peterborough in terms of players coming back. We have Stan back from international duty but we don’t want to rush players back for the sake of it — we want them ready to compete.”



FORMER Athletic goalkeeper Paul Rachubka has signed a one-year deal at Bolton. The 34 year old, who will provide competition for number one Ben Amos at the Championship club, was recommended to manager Neil Lennon by ex-Athletic goalkeeping coach Bobby Mimms.



GOALS from Ryan Sharrocks and Steve Bromley condemned Mossley to a 2-0 Evo-Stik League Division One North defeat at Harrogate Railway Athletic last night.