Options open for next challenge

Latics’ assistant manager writes every week for Chron Sport
WE HAVE the benefit of options for the Brentford game and this week have mixed it up in training to take a look at how a few of them could work.

It is exactly what we need. We want people sitting on the bench who are ready to go.

Hopefully, it gives those who are starting the game that added impetus to keep their place, because they know there are other quality players ready and waiting to take advantage.

A few players are still missing through injury. Fingers crossed, we will get a full-strength squad back, injury and suspension-free, soon.

Brentford will provide a different challenge to that we have come across recently.

They have a lot of pace up front with Clayton Donaldson and their wide players and are definitely a threat going forward.

We must counteract that by being on the front foot, imposing our game on them and generally following up what we did at Leyton Orient last week.

It was a very good performance from us at Brisbane Road. We started the game well and finished the first half strongly, missing a couple of gilt-edged chances.

You would have put your mortgage on Shefki Kuqi scoring with his header that went into the side netting in the first half.

Even after putting in the performance he did, he was a little bit disappointed with himself for not putting it away.

Shefki has been a big plus and drags others through with him. He is the man who starts it all off for us.

When you see someone like him challenging and winning the ball it spreads belief to the rest of the team that we are capable, physically.

At half-time, we said to Shefki that if he could just nail that final pass, then we would get in on goal.

He produced a couple of little flicks in the game which didn't come off.

The thing with Shefki, though, is that he doesn't get downbeat when things don't quite happen for him.

If he thinks there is a chance, he will try something. For the final goal scored by Matt Smith, it certainly worked.