Competition the key for Liddell

ANDY LIDDELL has already won two promotions in his long career – and he’s convinced Athletic can earn him another.

The veteran forward, who helped Barnsley reach the Premier League and has also gone up from League One with Wigan, is impressed by the standard of talent at Boundary Park.

Liddell is one of Athletic’s longest-serving players as he now enters his fourth season since joining from Sheffield United.

He recently penned a new 12-month contract and is ideally qualified to gauge his team’s prospects.

“I’m not making predictions because you don’t know what might happen – at one stage last season we had so many injuries only seven players were training – but this squad is equipped to do well,” said Liddell (35).

“There’s more competition for places than I’ve ever known here, and it’s not just a small group of older players backed up by kids.

“We have a lot of established first-team footballers because, having played so much last season, you’ve got to include people like Deane Smalley in that group.

“Lads like Smalley, Chris Taylor and Neal Eardley aren’t just kids on the fringes any more, so there are 20-odd players who have proved they can do the job.

“The club is guaranteed to benefit when that’s the case because, right from the start, every training session becomes more competitive.

“There are pretty much two players for every position and you are desperate to get in the team – training has already been lively, believe me.

“We are going into this season with a lot of belief because we did pretty well last season and the manager has strengthened his squad since then.

“Considering all the injuries it was no mean achievement to finish eighth, so we’ve got to be aiming much higher this time.

“The potential is there to win promotion, but in the last two years we’ve got off to a bad start and we can’t afford another.

“That’s something the manager has focused on during pre-season and there will be no excuses if it happens for the third year running.”

Liddell’s first taste of promotion came in 1997 as part of the Barnsley team who played such attractive football it was, according to their fans, “just like watching Brazil”.

They only lasted one year in the Premier League, but Liddell got back on the glory trail with Wigan as they reached the Championship in 2003.

He said: “Wigan had a lot of money for a club in this division, which they showed by paying £1million for Nathan Ellington, and they were always expected to go up.

“But at Barnsley it was different – it was more about having a good set of players with young talent mixed in, so I can see similarities between the Barnsley team of a few years ago and the Oldham team today.

“Wigan’s sort of money always helps, and we’ll be battling against clubs with a few quid to spend, like Leeds, MK Dons, Peterborough and Leicester.

“It’s no coincidence that the three promoted teams last season were Swansea, Nottingham Forest and Doncaster (all with big budgets). The division is tough, but I reckon we’ll be up there.”

Liddell has made 110 appearances for Athletic, almost exclusively as a right winger, and has chipped in with 25 goals, plus countless assists.

He sat out five months of last season with an Achilles injury but was delighted to be offered a new contract, even on less money.

He revealed: “I knew there would be a wage cut, but I spoke to (managing director) Simon Corney and it was all sorted out in five or 10 minutes.

“I’m not saying the financial side didn’t matter, but I was more bothered about staying here and carrying on playing.

“I’ve still got a few years left in me and I look after myself during the summer. It’s no fun, but I do running and weights on my own.

“As a 35-year-old I’m very proud of my fitness. There was only one player I couldn’t catch in pre-season – that was Chris O’Grady, but he’s a machine.”