24th November 2000  

Millwall previews

ANDY RITCHIE has issued a rallying call to his troops as Athletic prepare for their biggest test of the season so far. Ritchie believes Millwall, who visit Boundary Park tomorrow, are the most powerful side in the second division. Though Athletic have won five of their last seven games, the manager warned they would have to be at their best to keep up the run. Millwall are second in the table and have a goalscoring record bettered by only four teams in the Nationwide League. Ritchie will hand a vote of confidence to his in-form side following their FA Cup win at Hednesford last week. But he said: "This is our toughest match of the season because Millwall are strong right through the team. "They have very good strikers, especially Neil Harris, and playing them will be a measure of our progress.

"If results are anything to go by, we tend to do quite well against the top sides. "But we have to go out and prove that again tomorrow against the best team in our league. "We will keep the same outlook and set our stall out to have a real go at them." Ritchie's line-up will be geared to attacking football, with striker Mark Allott again slotting into midfield. Athletic will be unchanged from the match at Hednesford, where Carlo Corazzin scored for the first time in 11 games. The Canadian — who now has four for the season — had returned from international duty only 24 hours earlier and Ritchie hopes the goal will spark a more prolific return.

"Carlo could have had more than one," the manager said. "But he had been a bit subdued, so it was good to see him back on form. "He had done a lot of travelling and, after he got back, he came straight into training before he went to get some sleep. "That's what suits Carlo best and he is experienced enough to know about his own recovery. "He was a bit jaded towards the end at Hednesford, but let's hope the goal will inspire him to get a few more."

ATHLETIC: Kelly, Rickers, Garnett, McNiven, Innes, Allott, Duxbury, Carss, Eyres, Corazzin, Dudley. Subs (from): Miskelly, Holt, Jones, Salt, Boshell, Tipton. 

MILLWALL (from): Warner, Lawrence, Nethercott, Dolan, Ryan, Ifill, Bircham, Livermore, Reid, Harris, Moody, Kinet, Braniff, Odunsi, Cort, Sadlier, Gueret. 

Teamtalk Oldham

Phil Salt and Danny Boshell came through training on Friday and will take their places in an unchanged Latics side to face Millwall on Saturday. Salt had a swollen foot and Boshell a knee problem, but both came through Oldham's final training session of the week unscathed and are fit for the visit of the Lions. Andy Ritchie's men have lost just one of their last six games and the boss was looking forward to the crunch clash against a side he rates as "the best in the second division". Ritchie said: "It will be a good measure to see how far we have progressed."
Latics (probable):- Kelly, Rickers, Garnett, McNiven, Innes, Allott, Duxbury, Eyres, Carrs, Corazzin, Dudley. Subs:- Miskelly, Tipton, Boshell, Salt, Jones.

Latics defender Mark Hotte is pushing to win back his first team place after suffering a broken hand four matches ago. The lightning-quick Hotte, who was a regular until his unfortunate injury, has been playing in the reserve side with a specially-made protective cast and is ready to make the step up to senior level if he gets the call. There will soon be more competition for places up front as well with the emergence of Ryan Sugden. The youngster's career has been blighted by injury and illness, but he looked to be back to his best with a two-goal salvo in a midweek reserve team victory.

Andy Ritchie says Millwall's Neil Harris is the biggest danger in a side he reckons are the best in the league, and added he'd love to sign him. Harris has attracted attention from Premiership outfits Manchester United and Coventry City already this season after notching thirteen goals for the Lions, and the Latics manager is a big admirer of the former non-league hitman. Ritchie said: "He is very aggressive and always a handful. He is a lethal finisher and you can't afford to give him even half a chance. "In fact, he has everything - and I would love him in my side."

Teamtalk Millwall

Richard Sadlier and Sean Dyche may return to the side for the trip to Oldham, where a win could lift Millwall to the top of the table. Both players have been struggling with injury but trained fully on Thursday morning and travelled with the rest of the squad to the north-west. Sadlier should reclaim his place alongside Neil Harris up front if he passed fit, although Dyche may find it harder to get into the side ahead of Joe Dolan, who has performed well at the centre of the Millwall defence in his absence. Lucas Neill is still being troubled by an Achilles injury, while boss Mark McGhee is still without Christophe Kinet. It means that Steven Reid is set to continue on the left, while Paul Ifill is again expected to start on the right. Youngster Kevin Braniff was named among the substitutes for the midweek victory at Bristol Rovers but is unlikely to get a place on the bench at Boundary Park if Sadlier is declared fit. Millwall's win at Rovers took them into second place in the table and if they win at Oldham and leaders Wigan fail to beat Bristol City, or if the Lions draw and Wigan lose, McGhee's men will move to the top of the Second Division. 

Official Oldham Athletic Web Site

Latics officials are concerned about the weather forecast prior to Saturday's match. Rain is forecast again tonight and with the Boundary Park pitch already saturated they are making contingency plans for an early morning pitch inspection on Saturday. A verti-draining operation was again carried out yesterday and at this stage officials are fairly confident that the match will be able to proceed.