New boy determined to shine again

ALL SMILES . . . David Worrall (left) with Athletic boss Lee Johnson

DAVID Worrall has yet feature for Athletic, but he still holds a Boundary Park record.

As a Bury player last season, his display against Oldham earned him the rarest of plaudits: a man-of-the-match award presented by Latics chairman Simon Corney.

Such a feat has never occurred before. Ordinarily, the prize goes to a member of the home side.

But so awful were Athletic as they slumped to a 2-1 home defeat that Worrall’s display was worthy, according to the furious Latics chairman, of the accolade.

The 23-year-old Shakers star caused havoc on a night James Tarkowski won’t recall with affection. The centre-back’s own goal was followed by his conceding of a penalty for a foul on Worrall which saw the visitors go two-up.

Fourteen months on, the fortunes of the pair have turned round: Tarkowski is being tipped to make it to the Premier League, while Worrall has barely had a look-in at Rotherham after moving there in the summer.

Having joined Athletic on loan to the end of the season, his desire now is to get back to the sort of form which first brought him to the attention of the Boundary Park hierarchy.

“I’m really pleased with the move. It is great for me, because I’m back closer to home again and so the family are happy. A lot of them are Oldham fans,” said Worrall, who was snapped up by Johnson late last week.

Worrall’s task is to help guide his new club away from the trapdoor his former employers Bury fell through last term.

“You can’t disguise where Oldham are in the league so you’ve got to battle it out and try and get the results going again,” he added.

NEXT: we talk to second newcomer Gary Hawkins