Oldham Athletic interim manager Richie Wellens is hoping he can turn around the club’s luck going into his first match in charge.
Latics suffered a disappointing defeat against Rotherham at the weekend, which was soon followed by the departure of John Sheridan, but Wellens believes the team were unfortunate in their previous matches.
He said: “Little moments in games, like the last minute penalty against Fleetwood, Doyle’s miss to go 2-1 up against Shrewsbury, have not been running for us, they’ve been going the other way.
“I’m hoping for a little bit of luck. Sir Alex Ferguson was the best manager in the world, but he was also the luckiest, so I wouldn’t mind a little bit of luck.”
Wellens’ team host second-placed Peterborough United in Sky Bet League One tonight at SportsDirect.com Park.
Ahead of the game the interim manager commented: “We usually associate Peterborough with good passing football, quite open, but we just watched a few games there and they’re quite direct. They leave the two strikers up.
“Maddison’s one of the best players in the league. He’s a very good footballer, good left foot, moves all around the pitch, but I’m trying to focus more on what we’re going to do. I’m going to try and play a bit different to what we’ve been doing lately.”
He was also eager to credit the supporters: “The fans have been great this season,” he added. “At home they’ve been great. I remember the Charlton and Wigan games where things didn’t go our way, but they applauded the players off the pitch. They’ve been fantastic.”
Paul Green and Ryan Flynn remain unavailable for the visit from Posh and this injury list has been added to by Ryan McLaughlin, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Wellens offered his thoughts on the Northern Irishman’s injury: “It’s a bad one. He’ll be out for a couple of months.
“It’s disappointing because Ryan’s one of those players with pace, especially the way we’re going to play, with pace and high energy. He’s obviously going to be a big miss. He’s a good footballer.”
Wellens also revealed there would be no other players coming into the squad and that there would only be a few personnel alterations.
Latics host Peterborough United at SportsDirect.com Park on Tuesday, September 26, 7:45pm kick-off.