What a difference a week makes.
From looking over our shoulder towards the relegation zone to looking up towards the play-offs.
Listen – let’s not get ahead of ourselves as much as two wins doesn’t mean we’re back to HMS {REDACTED WORD} THE LEAGUE the comparatively poor period since the October international break equally didn’t mean we were destined for League Two.
What we have seen in the last two games is a side much closer to clicking than they were earlier in the season. Which with the amount of new and primarily young players in the squad, with very little time together and for many very little time in senior football.
It’s only natural that our beginning of the season wouldn’t necessarily be as strong as last season’s.
A season where we still maintained a decent number of our Championship/League One players. But that’s difficult to articulate when you’re dealing with a fan base used to better at this level, it’s difficult to explain that players simply take time to get used to each other and used to how their team mates play.
But there are tentative signs that it’s beginning to come together.
The last two matches could well be described as as tough as they come a side chasing the play-offs and a side just ahead of ourselves towards the bottom of the league with an enviable forward line to call on.
Latics stood up and passed the test with flying colours. Against Barnsley Latics were once again the better side in the first half, too many times this season that has been the case but we’ve not managed to capitalise and have gone on to lose.
Not this time as one Thelonious Aasgaard stepped up again to get Latics ahead. Barnsley threw everything against us in that second half but a combination of Will Aimson and Sam Tickle meant that we would take all three points back to Lancashire.
Northampton was a completely different prospect, Latics could and should have been 4-0 up at half-time on Tuesday.
The fact that we weren’t always leaves you at risk and as with Barnsley, Northampton threw everything against us in that second half with Tom Eaves and Martyn Waghorn coming on for Northampton.
As League One forward lines go that’s not a bad one is it? Eaves has scored goals everywhere he goes and the same was to be the case here.
Latics were indebted to Sam Tickle with three crucial saves, first a one v one and then an unbelievable double save at the death.
Thankfully Tickle the newly named North West Football Awards Young Player of the Year was there to keep Latics in the hunt for three points.
You can see thing’s starting to come together now and this very young side are working their socks off to try and succeed.
Someone laughably said after the Forest penalty win that the players aren’t playing for Shaun Maloney and what a farcical comment that was.
You only have to see their reactions to the manager after full-time on Saturday and Tuesday to see what they think about him.
This season will have it’s up and it’s downs, we’re high now and we need to continue that on Saturday in the FA Cup.
Let Latics Gel!
Sean Livesey
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