Latics seek Flynn tonic

RYAN FLYNN . . . the Athletic schemer missed Monday night's FA Cup defeat because of sickness

RYAN Flynn could be back to provide creative inspiration as Athletic go in search of a pick-me-up at Oxford.

Flynn was a notable absentee as the club went out of the FA Cup at the second-round stage at the hands of Lincoln City this week. The 28-year-old went down with a sickness bug last weekend and failed to recover in time to make the trip to Sincil Bank.

His manager Stephen Robinson hopes that Flynn will be ready to board the bus to the Kassam Stadium tomorrow.

If that is the case, he is a shoo-in to return to a side that lacked his nous so badly in Monday's costly 3-2 defeat.

"Ryan was sick the day before the game," Robinson said. "We were hoping he would be fit to play but unfortunately, he wasn't right.

"We missed him badly as well. We hope to get him back into the squad and the team."

The Lincoln defeat left Athletic short of £27,000 in prize money that would have been claimed by getting into round three, in addition to a portion of the gate receipts for what would have been a third-round tie at Championship club Ipswich Town.

PAIN

A win at Walsall in the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night would go some way to alleviating that financial pain, with the winner of that knock-out clash will pick up £20,000 and land a place in the last 16 of the competition.

Robinson admitted his options in the player market next month could be affected by the FA Cup loss and said it also served to inform him about the mental make-up of certain squad members.

"It hasn't helped money-wise in what I can and can't do, but it has told me a lot about people's character. You learn a lot about people when you are losing," the manager said.

"You look at Peter Clarke and what he is all about but with others, I didn't see that at all.

"I am not going to vilify individuals - but I will take care of what I need to."

THE DRAW for the last-16 stage of the Checkatrade Trophy took place this morning from 11.30am and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports News.

Athletic have yet to play their second-round tie - at Walsall, it is on Tuesday, December 13 (7.45pm kick-off) - but will know the identity of their next opponents in the event of making it through at the Banks's Stadium.

Bradford, Coventry and Wycombe made it through last night and are joined in an open, non-regionalised draw by Blackpool, Swansea City under-21s, Chesterfield, Brighton under-21s, Mansfield, Scunthorpe, Oxford, Luton and Yeovil.