Mellon Ahead Of Midweek Trip
Micky Mellon is looking for more of the same from his Latics players ahead of the visit to AFC Fylde tonight.
Mellon oversaw a dramatic win in his first game as manager, Latics scoring four times to secure maximum points in the derby at Rochdale.
Tonight, Mellon’s side face another away game on the Lancashire coast and he is looking to use the win at Spotland as the platform for further progress.
“The win on Saturday gives us a good position to work forward from,” he said.
“It was the first time the players have come together as a group for me and it’s now down to us to build on that.
“We knew it was going to be a huge game for everyone connected to the club and it was important that we got a result for the supporters. We managed to do that and sometimes as a manager, you’ve got to stand back and say well done to the players.
“We’re pleased with how things have gone during our first week and we’ve now got to concentrate on the things we want to get good at in terms of how we believe we can win games.
“We want to develop a way of playing and for the players to become consistency good at that as we look forward. We’ll be taking another brilliant following to Fylde and it’s down to us to put in another performance for them.
“There were a few things for us to work on when we had the players in on Monday to make sure we’re prepared for the game. We’ve had to manage their recovery with the quick turnaround but I expect them to be ready for the game.”
Fylde were promoted last season as champions of the National League North but have found life difficult since returning to the level above.
The Coasters are without a permanent manager after the departure of Adam Murray and sit bottom of the table, drawing 1-1 against Ebbsfleet on Saturday.
“Every match presents different challenges and we know this game will be tough because Fylde need points,” Mellon added.
“We’ve watched them a few times and they are a good football team. We know they’ll try to keep the ball on the floor and play in an attractive way so we need to be good at dealing with that.
“They will carry a threat and will clearly want to start getting results so they can climb the table. We’ll have to be on our game and find the energy levels that are needed to try to pick up what would be another valuable three points.”
The manager is waiting on some players who sustained knocks at Spotland before naming his side and is pleased that Dan Ward was able to return to training yesterday after his recent period on the sidelines.
“There are a couple of players we are keeping an eye on,” he added. “Saturday was a derby, so naturally there are a few players who picked up knocks but we will give them every chance.
“We’ve got a good squad, so if we did have to bring anyone into the team then I’d expect them to know what their job is.
“We are still without Brennan Dickenson but Dan Ward trained on Monday. It was his first time back with the main group and hopefully after a full week, he might be able to come back into things towards the weekend.”
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