Fantastic Initiative

PAUL DICKOV . . . “supporters money will be used to bring in the right player”.

Latics boss salutes PlayerShare scheme
TRUST Oldham are on the verge of breaking through the £10,000 mark for the relaunched PlayerShare scheme — and Athletic manager Paul Dickov reckons the initiative could make all the difference this season.

At a special event held at Milan Bar in Lees, Athletic Dickov explained how the scheme could assist his efforts in bringing in a new player as the club aims for a place in the npower League One play-offs.

The fund will be made available to Dickov on request, should a target otherwise lay outside of the club’s financial reach.

“Every little helps,” said Dickov, whose side were without a game for the second weekend running after the Swindon fixture at Boundary Park was postponed on Friday.

“As a management group, we are very wary that this is your (the fans’) money and we want to make sure it is used to bring in the right player.

“It is a fantastic initiative and we hope we can increase it a bit more in order to bring in a player the fans can respond to.

“It could make the difference and gain us a crucial extra three, six, nine or even 12 points.”

In PlayerShare, supporters are asked to pay a minimum of £1 a week and so far, the balance has reached £9,200 with supporters averaging a contribution of £9 per month.

The first half of the meet-the-fans event in Lees consisted of Dickov, assistant boss Gerry Taggart and head of sports science Paul Butler discussing the team’s progress so far this season.

After a break, proceedings resumed with an explanation of how the PlayerShare scheme could help Dickov and his staff in bringing in new players to the club.

It was followed by a question-and-answer session, the Athletic trio fielding questions from the assembled audience.

The Athletic trio spoke on a variety of different subjects, from tactics defending corners — getting all 10 outfield players behind the ball is down to a desire to defend in numbers, coupled with the belief that leaving one player up is unnecessary as the team will create chances at other times in the game — through to performances of individual players this season and the style of management that has been imposed.

For more details on PlayerShare, visit www.trustoldham.co.uk