Latics looking for pain relief

Nathan Clarke (black kit) get in the thick of the action.

NATHAN Clarke has called on his team-mates to remember how painful it felt to throw away a three-goal lead at Carlisle — and use it to their advantage against Bury on Saturday.

The centre-half cut a bitterly disappointed figure after the ‘battle of Brunton Park’, in which Paul Dickov’s side raced into a 3-0 lead within 44 minutes only to let it slip through their fingers and leave Cumbria with a solitary point.

But far from sweeping that sickly feeling under the carpet, Huddersfield loanee Clarke urged his colleagues to embrace it as a motivational tool ahead of the Shakers clash.

He said: “The last thing we should do is forget how bad we felt walking off the pitch at Carlisle.

“We must remember that feeling and hopefully it can spur us on when we play against Bury.

“It is the perfect match to follow such a big disappointment. We will be at home, it is a derby and most importantly, we have the chance to move up the table with a win.

“I am sure Bury will bring a lot of fans and our supporters will be up for it, so it should be a good atmosphere at Boundary Park and for us it represents an opportunity to move on from the last game by achieving a positive result.”

Clarke is one of several first-team players sweating over their place in a side which has conceded six goals in the last two matches.

Should manager Dickov opt to ring the changes, he has fit-again stopper Zander Diamond at his disposal, although any change at the heart of the defence is likely to see Jean-Yves Mvoto, rather than Clarke, sacrificed.

Clarke and Diamond were building an impressive partnership at the back before the Scot’s freak training ground injury, in which he slipped and jarred his back.

With the club waiting to discover the extent of James Wesolowski’s knee injury, which forced him off early in the second half at Brunton Park, winger Filipe Morais could start.

Meanwhile, Athletic chief executive Alan Hardy confirmed that, despite Carlisle’s Liam Noble appearing to elbow Dean Furman, the club would not take the matter further.

He said: “The referee did not see the incident so we have to let it go.”

Athletic under-18s face Rochdale at Spotland tonight in the FA Youth Cup first round (7pm kick-off).