Miles better all round

IN a division featuring a strong Northern bias, Athletic have only four round trips longer than 400 miles this season.

The furthest away day is that at Gillingham, a 504-mile round trip on October 3. New boys Southend force a 488-mile hike, with relegated Millwall (470) and Colchester (468) not far behind.

Rochdale are the closest opponents geographically, only 12 miles away.

The club’s total mileage will be 4,501, a 17 per cent drop on last season. The club with the least travelling to do in the Football League is Sheffield United (3,966), while League Two club Carlisle face a total of 11,810 miles across the campaign.