Johnson & Wesolowski preview weekend game
Lee Johnson spoke before Latics game against Peterborough United this weekend. The manager spoke about the defeat at Vale Park, players leaving Boundary Park and the game against Posh on Saturday.
On Port Vale:
"I was upset with losing yet another game that we should have taken a positive result from. I realise that this is something that I have said on several occasion, and I hate losing more than anything else, but I know that we are not far from being a very good side.
"I know that Muzzer (1st team coach Paul Murray) spoke to the press after the game and said that we are the 'nearly men'. I totally agree with him, we all feel that we are nearly there.
"We need some wins, so we can't keep waiting for the team to grow. Having said that we have yet to be outplayed this season, we need to score, we almost always dominate the middle third, but we need to start winning the boxes.
"In the games against Walsall we have created all the early chances, but failed to make the game safe. We are sitting on the bench wishing the ball in, but I repeat, we are nearly there. I firmly believe that we will hit someone for three or four soon"
On player movement:
"Cliff Byrne has been great for us, helping out with off field stuff as well as playing well. I didn't want to stand in his way as he feels he still has three or four years left in him, so it suited both parties for him to move on.
"Mike Petrasso has returned to QPR, he was great for us too. You never quite know with the youngsters how they will perform in real football games. He started off slowly but then exploded on to the scene. There is still a possibility that we might get him back in though.
"One of the problems with bringing in young players from under 21 squads, is that firstly the parent club usually want some form of guarantee that they will play. The big issue is that a lot of these lads are untested in the real football arena and you cannot be sure how they will react to the crowd, the pressure of winning etc.
"Adam Rooney has moved to Aberdeen today, we had a lot of interest in him from Scotland after his successful time up there in the past. I sorry it hasn't worked here for him, he is a good player, a good professional but for some reason it just hasn't worked".
On Peterborough United:
"It will be a good game, we played very well down there and lost which has been the story of our season, but they are a good side up at the top of the table. They score goals but they are always likely to concede too.
"I am confident in the team I will be putting out that we can get the win that will get us going. We have got to work hard to affect their back line. We have picked up a couple of niggles in training and in the reserve game against Manchester City last night, but nothing to worry about.
Watch the whole interview here
James Wesolowski also spoke about his time at Peterborough and his thoughts on the current state of play at Boundary Park.
On leaving Posh:
"I was disappointed to leave the club so soon after playing in the play-off final which we won to claim a place in the Championship. But to be fair to the manager he was fair enough to explain why I didn't fit into his plans. I came here to continue my career which has been a good move for me".
On this weekend's game:
"They are still a similar side to when I was there, they are still an attacking team who score loads of goals, but they will still give away goals. We know that going forward is their strength so we will have to be on our game defensively"
On the current lack of goals:
"I need to add goals to my game, the whole team need to take pressure off the strikers, we need goals from everywhere. Myself and Korey only have three between us and that needs improving"
Watch the whole interview here