Reputations count for nothing

Latics assistant manager writes for Chron Sport every Friday
OUR first-half performance against Huddersfield was definitely the best we have produced this season.

Some of our football was exciting to watch, with fluency and pace. We were unlucky not to go in at half-time more than one goal up.

Everyone knows that Huddersfield have probably got the biggest budget in npower League One. But that means nothing. You still have to go out there and beat teams.

Yes, Huddersfield arrived at Boundary Park with a reputation. And the game had a derby atmosphere, since they brought a lot of fans with them.

But our players really rose to the occasion. It was exactly what we had been looking for: everything came together in that first half.

Tomorrow's game at Dagenham reminds me of the recent FA Cup first-round tie at Accrington.

You speak to managers at our level and they are not worried about playing sides like Southampton or Brighton.

It is the sides (no disrespect meant) like Brentford, Leyton Orient and Dagenham they worry about, because these teams really get themselves up for matches, while teams at the top may think of certain fixtures as being easy.

That is what we thought when we went to Accrington: that we only had to walk out on to the pitch for things to happen for us. Unfortunately our players aren't good enough to go out and do that.

At Dagenham it is all about how we approach the game mentally; nothing to do with physical attributes.

After that we then take on Exeter and Rochdale — and the latter game will probably have a similar atmosphere to that at Boundary Park on Saturday, so we will be looking for a similar attitude from the players.