Options open for Latics boss

TALKING TACTICS: Athletic boss Paul Dickov and his assistant Gerry Taggart.

PAUL Dickov has described how he plans to deploy his new line-up.

With Jordan Slew on board and no further new faces likely before Athletic start the season against Sheffield Wednesday on Monday, it could be Dickov will field 4-3-3 formation at Boundary Park.

Or the manager could hand Youssouf Mchangama a role on the left of a four-man midfield, as has been the case during the pre-season matches.

Dickov would like a new left winger following the loss of Chris Taylor, but while he has prospects, nothing is imminent.

“Youssouf is in there at the moment and doing a good job for us,” he said of the versatile Mchangama.

“Although it is a smaller squad this year, I have better options to change it if I need to.”

On the subject of Slew, Dickov expanded on what he believes the on-loan Blackburn striker will bring to the team.

“The one thing we missed last year was pace up top,” he added. “We had to prioritise in the summer and first and foremost, made sure Robbie (Simpson) signed up.

“Then we had to have someone alongside him. We want both of them in the box and scoring goals.

“It will cause teams problems. Because if Jordan is stretching them one way, it will give Robbie space to do what he is good at — causing teams problems.”

Dickov plans to spread goal-scoring responsibility around the team, rathrt than relying, as last year, on one player.

He said: “It is something we have spoken about to the midfielders, the wide players and even the defenders.

“We relied too much on Shefki’s goals last year and you saw what happened from January onwards, when he stopped scoring.



ATHLETIC spent a total of £13,640 on agent fees last season, according to official figures released by the Football League.

That puts the club in the bottom-third section of League One.

Heading the field was Sheffield Wednesday, who spent £332,620.




READ the full version of this story only in our print and eChron editions



Follow us on Twitter - @OldhamChronicle