Home power crucial to our chances — Sheridan

JOHN Sheridan is banking on home rule in his side’s quest for promotion from Coca-Cola League One.

Athletic have a 100-per-cent record from three league fixtures at Boundary Park, a proud statistic which the manager is keen to extend, starting with tomorrow’s visit of Huddersfield Town.

Sheridan said: “Three of our next four games are at home so it is important to keep the run going.

“We have been scoring plenty of goals and creating lots of opportunities and tomorrow’s is a game I think we can win.”

Athletic visit Stockport next Friday before home fixtures against Hereford and Leicester so, with three out of their next four games at Boundary Park, their chance to consolidate their position at the top of the table is obvious.

Though Huddersfield have made an indifferent start to the season - they were second from bottom before last Saturday’s win against Northampton lifted them to 15th place - Sheridan sees the Yorkshire raiders as a potent threat.

He said: “It will be a totally different game to last Saturday’s as Huddersfield have a side which is big, strong and more direct than Hartlepool.

“They play off Andy Booth and Liam Dickinson, their two big men up front, and that is something we will have to deal with.

“I am trying to concentrate on my own team rather than the opposition and let them worry about us.

“Although I respect Huddersfield and know their strengths and weaknesses, we shall not be changing the way we play and will be taking the game to them.”

Sheridan accepts that as leaders of League One, Athletic have become targets to be shot at, starting with the visit of the Terriers, whose management team is Stan Ternent and former Athletic player Ronnie Jepson.

He added: “We have to be prepared for teams to come here to try to frustrate us and also be ready for a battle.

“We have to focus on our own game and also get the ball down on the ground and play as we know we can.”

Sheridan was also at pains to point out that his side has only played seven league games and there are still a further 39 to go.

It has been a summer of enormous change at Huddersfield and something of a baptism of fire for Ternent, who replaced Athletic legend Andy Ritchie as manager.

Ternent has made 10 signings and has splashed out over £500,000 in transfer fees, a sizeable sum by League One standards.

Gary Roberts (Ipswich) and Ian Crainey (Swansea) each cost £200,000-plus, while Tom Denton was a £60,000 buy from non-league Wakefield.

But it was the capture of striker Dickinson which caused most surprise.

Dickinson left Stockport for Derby County in a £1million summer move, but before getting the chance to establish a regular first-team place at Pride Park, he found himself loaned to Huddersfield before the season kicked off.

The deal has been extended for a second month, although Derby have a 24-hour recall clause.

The capture of Dickinson has squeezed out former Athletic striker Luke Beckett, a relief for Sheridan bearing in mind he scored the winner for Huddersfield at Boundary Park last season in the fourth round of the FA Cup.