Garath McCleary is prepared for another difficult test when Oldham Athletic visit ME7 on Saturday.
Oldham come to the MEMS Priestfield Stadium off the back of a midweek win, and McCleary is expecting the game to be a battle.
With the winger being one of the more experienced players in the squad, he discussed how he has used that to help the younger members of the team remain focused through a difficult spell of results.
What to expect from Oldham…
It’s going to be a tough game. Before I signed, I watched the game away at Oldham when Vokesy [Sam Vokes] scored. We know what to expect; every game in this league has been tough so far. We are going to have to battle and try to take our opportunities when we get them.
It’s going to be a real battle. I know one of their players, I used to play with him when I was at Forest years ago; I know the type of player that he is, so I know what to expect from the teams that he is in also.
Using his experience to help younger players in the squad…
You see that along the way. I have seen it throughout my career, where a younger player probably won’t do what they’re best at because they don’t want to make a mistake. We have got players in the team that will help encourage and get the younger players to express themselves to the best of their capabilities. If they ever need a shoulder, then we will be here.
We are not going through the best of runs at the moment, but we have got experience, and we will hopefully be rubbing off on them of what we can expect coming up and how to change our fortunes.
Message to the fans…
The support, especially at Crewe and Chesterfield, is brilliant support to bring away from home. I’m a football fan myself, so I can understand when teams aren’t doing too well and the frustrations that there can be.
Just stick with us. We are trying 100%, hopefully you can see that on the side. We need to bring a bit more to get their hopes up and to see that we are really challenging, so just stick with us.
