Oldham OS Report
and Fuming Manager
Off-colour Athletic's indifferent form continues as an excellent start unravelled against Swindon at the County Ground.
If Athletic dominated the second period at Bristol in midweek, they cranked it up another notch by absolutely blitzing the Robins in the first 20 minutes.
A barrage of chances came and went as John Sheridan's side laid siege to the home goal, but a breakthrough wouldn't come and one of the most against-the-run-of-play goals you will ever see threw an industrial-sized spanner in the works.
And so it goes on......
A furious John Sheridan launched a stinging verbal volley at his side following the 2-0 defeat at Swindon.
Two first-half goals against the run of play condemned Latics to their second successive defeat following the reverse at Bristol Rovers.
Sheridan cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as the visitors failed to make an impression in the second half against a determined Robins outfit.
And the gaffer - who will be bringing his side in for extra training next week - didn't hold back post-match.
"That was our worst performance of the season, and with the goals we gave away you'd think you were watching schoolboy football," he fumed.
"I'm not happy at all today. We started well but gave ourselves an uphill battle. We looked poor today - no-one played well from one to eleven.
"I'm not going to accept that level of performance, because we will be relegated if we keep playing like we did today.
"I am not happy one bit and I have told the players that. They will be working long, long hours because I just won't have that level of performance."
Sheridan believes he has weeded out players who he feels are in a comfort zone, and the Latics chief is prepared to make changes to combat the problem.
Athletic host League leaders Scunthorpe at Boundary Park on Tuesday, and a number of fringe players could now find themselves involved.
Sheridan stormed: "Some people in the team think they're going to be picked week in, week out. Well, that's going to change.
"There are no automatic choices and people are waiting to play. This is a reality check because some people just weren't at the races today."
He added: "I want to apologise to the fans who have travelled a very long way because I just will not accept that performance.
"I am a very angry man at the moment."
