The latest signing on deadline day, Filipe Morais sat down and gave his thoughts upon his return to Boundary Park.
The midfielder is pleased to be back at Latics after a seven year absence and aims to help push the club back in the right direction.
“I’m delighted, it was difficult to leave Crawley Town because they’ve got a good team this year and they’ve had a decent start to the season, but my family are settled up here.
“I really wanted to come back and when the opportunity arrived with Oldham Athletic, I just thought it was great and a nice fit.
“I enjoyed a good period here at the time we were in League One and play-off contenders with a really good team. It will be nice to try and roll back the years and try and push the club back up.”
Morais claims he has changed as a player since he last played for the club and will continue to play for the shirt.
“I’m a different player on and off the pitch now, I was younger then and you obviously mature as you get older.
“Now, the fans can still expect to see what I always give which is 100% for the shirt and I’ll always try my hardest, I’m a team player and hopefully we can start to get the results back.”
The 33-year-old has been in impressive form at the start of the season and he wants to carry on in the same manner with Latics.
“I’m fit and ready to go. I played 90 minutes on Saturday against Cheltenham Town for Crawley, we won and it went well.
“I’m really looking forward to a good test down at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.”
Morais has settled in with the squad and he is determined to bring the good times back to Boundary Park.
“It was really easy to settle into the squad because I know a couple of the lads here obviously David Wheater and even the foreign lads I’ve got on really well with them as well.
“I’ve always been someone who can get along with anyone and it will be good to bring the changing room together and bring us all together as a team and try and start progressing the team back to what it used to be, because it’s a club that should be playing higher.
“I had a look at the last game against Colchester United and the attendance was 3,000 and when I was here it was around 7,000. I would love to see the fans start coming back but they will only come back to see players who are willing to fight for the shirt and that grit and determination.” He commented.
“It’s a working-class town so fans love to see that first and foremost and I’ll do my very best to try and that into the players. I’ll give my advice and experience and pass it on as much as I can.”
The midfielder wants to use his experience to his advantage and believes in the quality that the current squad possesses.
“I’ve always been a team player and if I can help the younger players with my experience, I’ve played in the Championship, League One and League Two so I know what is required from every league to win games.
“I think that sometimes you've got to start with the basics and work as hard as you can because there is no secret recipe.”
He added: “If you train as hard as you can you’re going to produce on the Saturday and you’ll get your rewards, that’s my advice to any young lad if you work hard you’ll get your rewards and after that your technical ability will take care of itself.
“There are definitely some really good technical players here from what I’ve seen in just one session, that was quite a joy to be involved in and from what I’ve just seen the key will be matching that with intensity, work rate and desire which is what the fans here demand.”
It’s been a hectic past few days for the new signing, but he remains focused on the next test against Plymouth Argyle.
“I’m really excited. I was knackered because I arrived late in the night and then I had to get up early to get here, but I was dying to train so it was good to get the session in and to meet all the lads but now it will be good to recover and come in fresh on Thursday after some sleep and really look forward to a trip back down South.
“What a first game Plymouth Argyle away though, they should have a lot of fans there and it'll be a great atmosphere and it’s a great test.
“Those are the ones that you want to feel the pressure, it’s when I’m at my best and I like it when there is pressure on every game.”
Morais stated that he’s delighted to be back with the club and he will give everything that he has for the Latics faithful.
“It’s lovely to be back and I hope you’re happy to see me back too. I will try and do a lot more than what I did last time as a young player and I’ve come back with a lot more experience now.
“I will give my absolute very best and I’m just really excited to be back and I’m proud to put the shirt on again.”