Latics escape plan

John Sheridan: first game in charge since his return to Athletic is against Roses rivals Bradford City.

EIGHT wins between now and the end of the season should see Athletic safe for another year.

The challenge facing new boss John Sheridan is laid out clearly in the league table. Five points separate Athletic from the safety of fifth-bottom.

Bookmakers says it’s likely that Athletic will drop to League Two come May. But there is plenty of time still left. Athletic have 22 games to play and more than two weeks left in the transfer window to negotiate deals.

The magical 50-point figure seems a long way off, given that bosses Darren Kelly and David Dunn combined managed to collect only 21 from 24 games. In the last 10 seasons, no side has gone down with more than 50 points. Eight victories and five more draws between now and end of the season will take Athletic to 50.

With that in mind we look at a set of matches from which Sheridan will hope to pick up maximum points.

Bradford City (Away) Saturday, January 16: Athletic need to narrow the gap on the sides above them and with Bradford possibly having an eye on their FA Cup replay with Bury three days later, maximum points at Valley Parade would hand the club an immediate surge of momentum.

Bury (Home), Saturday, January 23: The Shakers are on a bad run, having won only one of their last six league games. Athletic had the upper hand at Gigg Lane earlier in the season and the home crowd will be energised for Sheridan’s first home game.

Blackpool (H), Saturday, February 6: It is vital that close rivals in the League One table are defeated and Blackpool fall into that group. Danny Philliskirk and Mark Yeates recently joined the Seasiders, but as hosts, Athletic will believe they can exploit weaknesses.

Port Vale (H), Tuesday, March 1: Recent winners over Blackpool and Bury, teams take the Valiants lightly at their peril. Rob Page has his side set up solidly and it will be a challenge to break them down. But this is the sort of fixture Athletic need to start winning, and quickly.

Rochdale (H), Saturday, March 19: The draw earlier in the season at Spotland was a dour affair. Both teams know plenty about the other, but Athletic did the double over Keith Hill’s men last season and will hope to do the same again.

Fleetwood (A), Saturday, April 16: Athletic were fortunate to scrape a 1-0 win in the opening month against the Cod Army. Under Steve Pressley their form has been decent of late, with only one loss in six games. A repeat dose of last year’s Carl Winchester magic would be perfect.

Crewe (H), Saturday, April 23: Athletic supporters weren’t pleased with the way their side played at Gresty Road in losing 1-0. Much better is expected when the Railwaymen come to SportsDirect.com Park. Nothing but a win will do.

Coventry (H): Sunday, May 8: The final game of the season, against a Sky Blues side that appears well set to be in the promotion mix. Ideally Athletic’s safety will be assured before this point, but if not this could be a white-knuckle ride.