Keep your minds on the job - Johnson

Photo: Picture by ALAN HOWARTH.

SPOT KING: Jonathan Forte celebrates his successful penalty.

ATHLETIC have been challenged to stay mentally switched-on to get to the next level.

Jonathan Forte’s eighth goal of the season helped manager Lee Johnson’s side to a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield - a decent point away from home.

But Johnson felt his side wasn’t quite controlled enough to take the sting out of the Spireites. Oldham’s lead lasted only eight minutes before a disputed goal brought matters level. Had Athletic been more controlled and won, they would be fifth in the league rather than 10th.

“If you were giving marks out of 10 you are looking at sevens and eights for both teams, really,” said Johnson. “I think we need to have a little bit more control in the middle of the pitch. When we went 1-0 up, we were still a little bit gung-ho.

“At that point we started taking too many touches and making poor decisions. You just give the opposition at that point the impetus to think they have got a chance. That’s where we faltered.”

The draw will look even better in the event of a victory over Coventry tomorrow. The Sky Blues have now lost five of their last six matches to slip to 17th.