Latics must kick on, says boss

DAVE PENNEY is pleased Athletic have managed to establish a top-half spot in Coca-Cola League One.

The Boundary Park boss views the start to the league campaign as “satisfactory,” bearing in mind the way in which the first-team squad has been ravaged by injury.

Penney admits the hard job is just beginning. Athletic must maintain a top-half place and could even push for a play-off spot.

Said Penney: “There are some big teams with big budgets in League One and I would say it is probably the strongest division it has ever been in terms of the size of the teams.

“We have managed to get into the top half of the table and the players have risen to the challenge, but the even bigger one is to stay there.

“I won’t make promises because in football things like that can often come back to bite you.

“I will only say we will try to get as many points as quickly as we can and hopefully we will have a decent season.”

Penney admitted his players don’t need motivating when tackling the likes of Charlton (0-0) and Southampton (1-3), their opponents in the last two matches, as both were in the Premier League until recently.

“It was great to go to Charlton and play in front of over 16,000 fans,” he said.

“You can either go there, lie down and let them win 4-0 and go top of the league or view it as a challenge to go and ruin the party.”

An uneven playing field does not daunt Penney, who says the Premier League with its elite clubs is similar in many respects.

There have been times this season when Penney has been left with only 12 or 13 senior players, which makes Athletic’s results so far even more commendable.

He said: “It has been difficult with having so many players missing.

“It think that was underlined at Charlton who were able to bring on Leon McKenzie and Izale McLeod – two players whose transfers have cost millions of pounds – as substitutes whereas we had kids and first-year professionals.

“We are having to adapt to different systems and shapes with the players and personnel we have, and it is pleasing that we have managed to do that and get positive results while we have been light on bodies.”

Penney believes no team has comprehensively beaten Athletic – not even Hartlepool, who won 3-0 at Boundary Park on a Friday night when Athletic had umpteen scoring chances of their own.

He added: “We have looked solid and the results of all the games in which we have been involved could have gone either way.

“When I look at the defeat at Bristol Rovers and win at Southend, it could quite easily have been the reverse.”

Injuries to summer signings Rob Purdie and Joe Jacobson, who have yet to kick a ball competitively for Athletic, have rocked Penney’s plans, as has the absence of striker Deane Smalley.

And Chris Taylor, who has struggled with injury and illness for most of the campaign, and striker Lewis Alessandra are two other significant losses.

“When they return we ought to be stronger as a squad. There have been times when we have been threadbare,” said the manager.

Penney is delighted with the attitude of the players, their work ethic and the way they have taken on board whatever they have been asked to do.

Due to the lack of personnel they have been asked to play 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-5-1 and 4-1-4-1, the latter at Charlton where Jon Worthington sat in front of the back four to snuff out the threat of Jonjo Shelvey.

And despite criticisms of the way his side performed at The Valley, Penney was delighted with the way they executed their game plan.

“We did nothing different to what other teams do when they come to Boundary Park.

“Here, the onus is on us to break them down.”