Next game is the most important

Latics’ assistant manager writes for Chron Sport every Friday

THE LONGER you stay unbeaten, the more confidence breeds in a side.

But even though we are third in npower League One and haven’t lost yet, I am one of those people who never looks too far ahead.

I don’t think you can afford to. I know it is the oldest cliché in football that you take one game at a time, but I leave the examining of league tables to other people.

I just look at the next game and concentrate on how we go about getting a result from it.

Going into each game, it is all about how you approach it mentally.

That is why I don’t read too much into results as they can affect your mental state.

It is a personal thing, but I think you have to take each game on its merits and not worry about what the league table says in the paper.


LOOKING back at the Bristol Rovers game, I was very disappointed at half-time with the way our two centre-halves Jason Jarrett and Jean-Yves Mvoto, in particular, played.

And to be fair, Paul Black was also disappointing in the first half.

We have analysed it and in all the league games we have played, every goal we have conceded has been as a result of our mistakes.

If we cut out those errors, then we’ll be winning matches.

I take it personally. I was by trade a defender and have worked hard on the that aspect of things with the lads.

It is just silly little mistakes — switching off mentally at the wrong times — that have cost us.

We have had a few lads in with us to speak about it, so we will see what happens.

At the same time, what people need to remember is that Paul Black is only 20 years old, Jason Jarrett is a midfielder and big Jean-Yves Mvoto comes from a different footballing culture.

We were without the injured Reuben Hazell who is one of those players who, mentally, doesn’t flicker.

He is experienced and he has been excellent this season. Reuben is always going to be a big miss when he doesn’t play.




GOING away to play in Germany for Northern Ireland’s under-21s this week will have been positive for Kirk Millar.

Along with Warren Feeney, who played for the full side in Slovenia, he will grow from it.

I know that for me, when I was a young lad of 19 breaking into the Northern Ireland team, the experience was brilliant.

It improved me as a player and it will for Kirk as well.

I know Steve Beaglehole, the under-21s manager, very well from our time working together at Leicester City.

He was very pleased with Kirk’s attitude and the way he played on Friday night against San Marino.