Safety is in Latics’ grasp, says Carl

FULL FLIGHT: Carl Winchester has not had the chance to stretch his legs from the off in recent home matches for Athletic.

CARL Winchester may be left kicking his heels on the substitutes’ bench again tomorrow, but the club’s longest serving player won’t mind as long as his team beats Swindon.

At 22, the Belfast-born midfield man is already a veteran of seven different managers. Tony Philliskirk is the only member of the playing or coaching staff to have been there longer than Winchester’s five and a half years.

Though Winchester has had an impact under John Sheridan, scoring the winning goal at Shrewsbury, the Athletic boss made it clear he would pick his sides at least partly based on conditions underfoot.

For the elegant Northern Ireland international, that has meant starting in every away game under his new boss.

But on a deteriorating SportsDirect.com Park surface, his was mainly a watching brief against Gillingham and then Port Vale.

“You need to play to the pitch and that means that sometimes I will have to sit out, as the pitch doesn’t suit me,” said Winchester, who made his debut for Athletic under Paul Dickov in a losing FA Cup tie at Accrington aged 17.

“But as long as the team is winning, I don’t care.”

Winchester, who could line up against former colleague Anton Rodgers tomorrow, is unequivocal when asked whether Athletic are capable of getting the points needed to stay in League One.

“Of course we can,” he said. “We have the players in the squad to do it.”