The clock’s still ticking

WATCHING BRIEF: Athletic manager Lee Johnson calls out the orders at training.

Time yet for fringe men to win new Latics deals
THE LAST-DAY jaunt to Leyton Orient tomorrow may not have any league significance, but for some Athletic players it could be the most important match of their careers.

Manager Lee Johnson is in the middle of talks with Athletic’s 18 players whose contracts expire at the end of June.

Johnson has in his mind who he wants to keep for the most part, and some will already know they are headed elsewhere.

But Johnson says there are fringe players who could still tip the scales their way in the 90 minutes at Brisbane Road.

One performance as sparkling as the fancy dress likely to fill the away stand tomorrow could make the difference between a nervy scramble for a contract elsewhere come late July and the promise of a firm

proposal in the next couple of days.

“It is difficult, but we need to upgrade,” said Johnson, talking of his goals for next season.

“This is the natural evolution of a football club. I may be wrong, I may be right. Time will tell.

“But I have certainly made a decision on the retained list up to about 95 per cent of the squad.

“A couple can still tweak things and it is up to them to do that.”

Two players already certain for Athletic next season are 18-year-old pair Joe Cooper and Danny Gosset, who both made debuts in midweek at Shrewsbury.

Jonathan Grounds is rated as a 50-50 shout for tomorrow, but strike pair Matt Smith and on-loan Lee Barnard won’t take part due to injuries. Captain James Wesolowski, James Tarkowski and Daniel Taylor are also all out with ligament injuries.