Oldham Athletic defender Kean Bryan is excited to play in his first Oldham-Rochdale derby tomorrow afternoon.
The defender, who is on loan from Manchester City, has been impressive at central defence and he is hoping to shut out Rochdale’s attack tomorrow afternoon.
He said: “I’ve only faced Rochdale once and I get a red card so hopefully it won’t be the same on Saturday!
“I wouldn’t say it’s a personal battle, it’s just Rochdale to me. It’s no different from playing Wimbledon but it is a local derby so obviously there’s an edge to the game for the fans.
“With a derby there comes a lot of passion from the fans so we know we have to go out there and give everything, like we do every week, but obviously there is a bit extra with a derby.
“You know how much it means to the fans. When you get a last minute goal like we did against Bury it shows the togetherness of the club and squad.
“When that goal people were running wild, from the players to Richie to the fans, even my mum was jumping up and down!
“It just brings a lot to the club and it’s a great feeling.”
Bryan has formed a good partnership with captain Peter Clarke since his move to central defence.
“Peter Clarke speaks to me every day, whether it’s in the changing room or out on the pitch,” he said.
“He’s always speaking and reminding you what to do and where to be.
“His experience is unbelievable, all the lads say that, and he’s a great guy.
“He always looks after everyone, he’s got a good heart, but he knows when a player needs to put the work in and he’s the first person to raise his voice and tell us to pick it up.
“He’s been a great captain and a great role model for me as a youngster.”
Over the next three games, Athletic face teams in and around them and Bryan believes it is a good chance for Latics to advance up the league.
“We have a chance to go up the table, three points will take us midtable if results go our way,” he commented.
“I’ve always said in this league anyone can beat anyone, so if we get a run of wins who knows what can happen.
“I’m sure if we got a good run of games the play-offs wouldn’t be too far off.
“I think we have to believe that we can go as far as possible, there’s no point looking down when we can look up.
“Richie’s told us that a lot of our games this season have been against tough opposition.
“We haven’t really played anyone that’s below or around the same area as us so I feel like these next couple games are vital.
“If we get a couple wins out of them then I think it will put us at our stead and see where we are and we can build from that, but I feel like we have a good chance of getting some results in the next couple games.”