Erwin unfazed after six-game barren run

LEE ERWIN . . . still looking for his first goal in Athletic colours

LEE Erwin doesn't come across as a character who will let disappointment on the field chip away at his self-confidence.

Athletic's promising striker (21) has yet to hit the back of the net this season in six outings, but it isn't for the lack of trying.

He has hit the post twice - in the draw with Walsall and the recent win at his former club Bury - had one cleared off the line against Northampton and was the one player who managed to regularly work Preston goalkeeper Chris Maxwell in the EFL Cup loss.

Few strikers become fan favourites before hitting the goals trail. It is testament to Erwin's all-round influence that Athletic supporters have already warmed to the on-loan Leeds United player, who has had the tough task of living up to a £300,000 price tag following last year's move from Motherwell to Elland Road.

The question is, when will that first goal arrive?

"I don't know," said Erwin, who has found himself tasked with a creative role up front that suits his nimble feet and belies his size. "I just have to keep trying to hit the target and not let it get to me.

"I feel that the more I am playing, the more I am creating chances and it becomes more satisfying.

"The manager had me at Motherwell too and he gives me a lot of confidence.

"After last season when I wasn't playing, he brought me to Oldham where I have started enjoying playing my football again."

Growing up in the Motherwell academy, Erwin graduated to the first team where he played under the watch of current Bradford manager Stuart McCall.

The Bantams were linked with a move for the striker this summer, before he ended up working again with Stephen Robinson.

There is a sense that his is a career on the verge of really igniting.

Erwin branded last season as a "downer". He only made three starts in 2015-16, twice for Leeds and one for Bury, having ended a breakthrough campaign the previous year with five goals in nine in Scotland, including one in the successful Division One play-off against Rangers.

With Athletic's players bundled onto the field purely in a bid to get fitness in early pre-season, Erwin readily admits Athletic were starting from as low a base as it gets.

But he feels that the team is coming together and that the victory at Bury, where he endured what he called a "very unsuccessful loan", is proof that the squad is on track.

"If you looked at the team at the start of pre-season, we didn't have a clue what we were doing," Erwin said.

"But with so many new faces and new coaches, we had to learn how the manager wanted to play and more importantly, how each player wanted to play.

"That's all coming together now and you can see that the more we do play, we are really dominating teams. We had been unable to just get those three points but at Bury, we managed it.

"It's always good to get a win in a derby as well and it was my first for Oldham.

"There were a lot of positives to take from it including another clean sheet. Connor Ripley made good saves as well.

"It was good to come to Gigg Lane and get that win against my old team - everybody likes to do that."

The odds-makers remain unimpressed with Athletic's credentials. Favourites for relegation before a ball was kicked, despite not being beaten in the league since the opening day the club are still shorter-price for the drop than any rival.

Not that Erwin says Athletic's players take too much notice of all that. It would still be good to watch words being eaten, he admits.

"We were laughing about it," Erwin said of the pre-season prophecies of doom and gloom.

"We were written off before the season even started, but people now may be watching us and regretting they made those predictions."