On January 13, 2016, John Sheridan was named manager of Oldham Athletic for the second time after a seven year absence.
At the time, Latics sat 22nd in Sky Bet League One, five points off safety with only 22 games of the season remaining.
His opening two games ended in 1-0 defeats against Bradford City and Bury, with Latics dropping to 23rd position, eight points from safety.
At that point, Sheridan cited nine wins from the final 20 games of the season to keep the club in the division.
Wins did follow and so did the confidence of the Oldham Athletic players.
Shrewsbury, Gillingham and Peterborough were dispatched, whilst points were picked up against Wigan Athletic, Scunthorpe and Port Vale.
Not only did the confidence amongst the players grow, but the confidence amongst the fans rose.
We launched our Season Ticket initiative ‘Win When We Are Winning’, where supporters would receive money back on their 2016/17 Season Ticket should Latics win games in the month of March.
Over 1,200 fans backed the initiative and their faith was repaid as Sheridan’s men recorded three wins against Blackpool, Chesterfield and Swindon Town.
Victory over Walsall would take Latics out of the relegation places for the first time since November, and Curtis Main’s second half strike sealed a valuable three points in front of a crowd of 4,396 supporters.
Main’s form continued and on Tuesday night, he scored the only goal of the game to move Latics six points clear of the relegation places with only three games remaining.
That brings us to present day.
On Saturday, Sheridan will be eyeing his ninth win as Oldham Athletic manager to secure the clubs Sky Bet League One status for next season and allow him to start planning for the 2016/17 campaign.
All at the club appreciate the support the fans have given to the team throughout what has been a turbulent season, but particularly in recent weeks where the supporters have proved to be the 12th man.
The team really need that extra support again on Saturday to finally ensure safety.
Be loud, be proud, #PackThePark and let’s complete the job.
Come on Oldham!