Sheridan ready to ring changes

ATHLETIC boss John Sheridan has revealed he could again shake up his team for tonight’s League One match at Bristol Rovers.

Players including defender Neal Eardley and on-loan striker Brett Ormerod are vying for places in the starting XI as the Boundary Park side target their third win in six away games.

Eardley failed to regain his right-back spot against Leicester on Saturday after a spell on international duty with Wales – it was the first time since January that he had been left out when available.

But Richie Byrne’s hamstring problem may see Kelvin Lomax switch to left-back, with Eardley returning to the back four.

Sheridan has options throughout the team, and he said: “It honestly doesn’t bother me who plays because they are all good enough and they all know what I want from them.

“I know what my side will be and there might just be one or two surprises, but I will always give people opportunities.

“If I change the team and it backfires then people will ask questions, but some of the lads could get a chance when they don’t expect it.

“I’ve got players who are moody and grumpy because they aren’t playing. I’ve got Deane Smalley, Kevin Maher, Lewis Alessandra and five or six others all moaning, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

“At the moment I don’t know my best front two, but I’ve got plenty of strikers and confidence in all of them.

“We are the leading scorers in the division, but whoever I pick at Bristol Rovers will have to prove they are worth keeping in there.”

Sheridan confirmed Lomax as a probable starter as the 21-year-old has not played in a losing league side this season.

Athletic’s only defeat came at Stockport, where Lomax was an unused substitute.

Bristol Rovers are still without injured centre-backs Danny Coles and Steve Elliott, but they have recently tightened up in defence by conceding only two goals in four games.

ATHLETIC (from): Crossley, Lomax, Hazell, Gregan, Jones, Liddell, Allott, Whitaker, Taylor, Hughes, Davies, Ormerod, Eardley, Alessandra, Smalley, Maher, Fleming.

BRISTOL ROVERS (from): Phillips, Pipe, Hinton, Anthony, Lescott, Campbell, Disley, Lines, Hughes, Lambert, Duffy, Jacobson, Kuffour, Hunt, M Green, Klein-Davies, R Green.

RICHIE BYRNE will miss at least two games after picking up a hamstring strain in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Leicester.