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http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,2...5535714,00.html Skysports.com caught up with Oldham boss Dave Penney following what has been an up-and-down start for the League One outfit and found him in a talkative and candid mood. The amiable new Latics chief was happy to talk transfers, targets and stadium relocation as he bids to find the winning formula in the North West. Q: It's fair to say you've had an inconsistent start to the new season. Was that something you anticipated given the wholesale changes you made to your squad over the summer? We had two trips to London early on in the season. Leyton Orient had started really well. They'd beaten Newcastle in pre-season and then won their first two league games. We had a terrific result there and then went back down south and held our own at Millwall but missed a penalty and then conceded a late goal when we were chasing the game. We're quite pleased with how it's going overall though. Obviously a few more goals would be good - that's what's missing from us at the moment. Q: Given you had eight debutants on the opening weekend of the season against Stockport, it is just a case of being patient while players settle? Players move around a lot these days and they don't stay in one place for long. They're settling down now and that's the way it should be. Players are used to it and they tend to settle relatively quickly. It's an ongoing process and we'll continue to make changes. You do keep chopping and changing until you get the squad that you are happy with. We've done okay so far, the players are settling in quite well and there is starting to be a decent team spirit here. Travelling up and down the country always helps to get the team together. Q: How difficult is it to build a settled side when at the same time you've got to bed in so many new players? It's fine, they've had six or seven weeks with us now and most footballers are used to the moving about. People settling at football clubs, I don't see it as being a real issue. If people don't settle in then it certainly won't be for a lack of us trying to make them feel a part of it. You have to move them on quite quickly if they don't. Certainly settling them as a team will take longer than settling them as individuals. Q: Oldham slumped pretty badly at the back of last season as they missed out on the play-offs. Did you think wholesale changes were needed upon taking charge? Not really because they've only just missed out on the play-offs. A lot of the decisions were financially motivated, which has been well documented. We've not been able to hold onto the top earners and had to go in a different direction. That's the main reason why we've made changes. Q: Finances in the lower leagues are notoriously tight which often means players' contracts are short. As a consequence, is it difficult to plan long-term? I think it works both ways to be honest. If managers want to turn things around quite quickly then they can do that. It's relatively easy to plan but then a day or a week can be a long time in football. Looking at the bigger picture, it's possible to do so without being clouded by other issues. It's not too difficult to be fair. Q: You've lost Lee Hughes and Neal Eardley from last season's side. Do you think they've been adequately replaced in terms of quality? We're hoping so. Lee Hughes will always score goals and we're hoping Pawel Abbott will do likewise. He's set to take over his mantle and has got a couple of goals already. With regards Neal Eardley, we've got in Andy Holdsworth and he's played over 250 games for Huddersfield so that shouldn't be a problem. Q: Chris Taylor was linked with a move away from Oldham but you've managed to keep hold of him. How important was that and do you think he'd be capable of stepping up to the next level? Without a shadow of a doubt. Chris Taylor is a good footballer, he's one of the players we don't want to leave. He's not in a scenario like Neal (Eardley). He's got three years left and it's not a situation where we have to cash in before we lose him for nothing. I'm hoping he's going to be a footballer we have here for a long, long time. Q: Dean Furman was a signing that caught the eye over the summer. Is he another that could soon be interesting clubs higher up the football pyramid? He's only been here eight weeks! We saw him at Bradford where he did very well and now he's got to step up again to a higher level. He's acquitted himself well so far, he's got ambitions of going to the World Cup with South Africa. He's been in the squad a couple of times so obviously it's going to be a big season for Dean. He's on a long contract as well so we won't be looking to lose players like him and Chris Taylor. Q: For the majority of Oldham's away games this season you've employed Pawel Abbott as a lone front man, is this a system you envisage persevering with throughout the campaign? I think it depends on which game you're watching; you could say we've been playing with three up. It depends on how the game's going, when we've got the ball we should have three up and when we haven't, we'll defend with five across the midfield. It worked ever so well at Leyton Orient, against Millwall after ten minutes we switched back to 4-4-2. We've got that in our locker now, we can swap and change throughout the game. Q: The players you've brought in are by and large those that you've worked with before or have a great deal of experience playing in League One. Was this always in your thinking in a bid to hit the ground running? We had a lot of youngsters, 19 to 21-year-olds. We wanted to get some older heads in, players at 26 or 27, who have plenty of games under their belts. We feel we've done that. We're trying to get a development squad as well. Tony Philliskirk does ever so well with the kids and we're trying to get a reserve/development squad to go with that - they'll mainly be 17-19 years old. We're trying to get a group together that in two weeks, two months, two years will be ready to step-up into the first team. Q: Oldham were in and around the play-offs during John Sheridan's stint at the helm. Do you think a top six finish is a realistic target for this season? We've got to get as many points on the board as quickly as we can and then that'll hopefully take us to around that mark. It's a tough league with the teams that have come down, and there's a number of teams spending a lot of money. We're fully aware that it's going to be a tough job this season, but we're hopeful it can be a successful campaign. Q: The success you enjoyed at Doncaster was largely built on the back of a very strong relationship with your board. How important is it that a manager can get along with those above him? When you start a season in any division there are 24 teams, 24 chairman and 24 sets of supporters, players and managers all hoping they'll get promotion at the end of it. It's important that you can manage upwards and you can manage below you and you've got a good working relationship with the chairman and the MD. That's never been a problem with me. There's no problem with anybody here. Everything we've wanted to do here we've been able to do it. We were fully aware that we'd have to sell Neal Eardley. He was coming to the end of his contract and he wanted to move onto a higher level. That wasn't a problem, these things happen in football and we appreciate that it's tight financially at the moment. We have to do things for the good of the football club. Q: The current board's decision to move away from Boundary Park has not been universally popular. What are your views on the prospective new stadium? Most football clubs I've been at now, Doncaster, Darlington, Derby and Oxford, have all moved grounds and it's all part of the evolution. Old grounds are obviously lived in and they get run down. Sometimes you have to move on to push on. Supporters want to have nicer surrounds and demand better seating, catering etc. It's just part of the ongoing process in football, in fact in any sport. Grounds being redeveloped and revamped - it's just part of the game. Q: Do you feel empathy though for those supporters that are unhappy with the relocation? I can't do anything about that. That's down to the council, to the chairman and the board and the owners. If it's not feasible to build where we are (on the existing Boundary Park site) then they have to look for different locations. I don't know the ins and outs of it. If it's not a viable project to build where you are then you've no other choice, you have to build elsewhere. Q: Looking at mid to long-term goals, can you envisage Oldham being established as a Championship club? It's been here before of course, they've been in the Premiership where they punched above their weight with Joe Royle on the plastic pitch. They've certainly got a history and pedigree to do so. We're hopeful we can get them somewhere near, I can't see why not. Q: In the past some Oldham supporters have been accused of living in the past, which may account for the crowds. Do you think expectations are too high at the club? I'm not sure. I've only been here for eight to ten weeks working day-to-day so I couldn't say. I'm not quite sure what the supporters' expectation levels are to be perfectly honest. Q: How key will continuity be to bring success to the club? I think continuity is important. The chopping and changing, whether it be personnel or managers, never really does any good unless you're having a really bad run. We know what we're doing and we're confident that what we are doing is right. The board have backed us so far and as long as we're going in the right direction, trying to build the club and drive it forward, I'll be happy. Q: Given the enviable finances available to a number of your League One rivals, how difficult is it to compete? You can't compete financially. You have to look to do things differently, a different work ethic. Hopefully you can work harder than them, but we've also got quality of our own. You look at Burnley beating Manchester United earlier this season. We are hoping to do something like that. They're not the biggest team in the league but they've caused upsets and we're looking to do something similar on a different level. Q: Who have you earmarked to be up there vying for promotion at the end of the season? Leeds will be there, Huddersfield too. The likes of Charlton will be there or thereabouts and I'd imagine Southampton too, when they're up and running, along with Norwich. They'll all push on and I'm confident the big teams, with the big fan bases, will all be there at the end of the season.

This girl is going to be so disappointed when she see's Oldham's finest lol

On the basis that parker plays above Furman, I would like to see Parker in the hole behind the front 2 as that is where he did the damage for Blackpool. However, the balance of the team would surely be disrupted. Can't see him getting in up front or on the right so can only be left with looking at challenging Whits for the left wing in Taylor's absence

Hopefully the boo boys lay off then............

The comment on the OS where he states Bradford's direct style didn't suit his style of play makes sense. Hopefully when Taylor is back we will be able to use the width and keep the ball on the floor....which will create more space in the middle of the park for our centre mids to operate. Only worry is that DP wants his centre halfs to not do anything fancy.....might not help us wanting to play the ball on the floor. On another note, did anybody notice how Dean Brill had a reluctance to play the ball short to the wing backs and that his dead balls were shocking.......this guy is only good at long range shots.....loved the half time training session for the keepers......why we pay for a GK coach is beyond me!

Good appointment for them.....still not a Dave Penney though

Indeed, I had an x-ray on an ankle, was told it was badly bruised and sent on my way with crutches. 2 weeks later they called to say they had had another look at the x-ray and I had fractured it! Don't trust hospitals!

Not for me, remember him getting skinned off lewi when he got a hat-trick last season

Comment from Stalybridge celtics website: Loan signing Philip Ojapah was blooded in the last ten minutes, and was involved in everything, from losing the ball at the edge of his own area to allow Lee Furlong to smash home a fine effort, to narrowly missing a goal of his own at the other end of the pitch when he got onto Warren Peyton's through ball and half volleyed it narrowly wide.

Good luck to the bloke, hope he scores a hat-trick against us and we win 4-3

Demar Phillips instead please...wonder where he is now?

What about Mcnamee from Swindon, what did people think of him on Saturday?

The solution if possible would be for the hardcore away fans to all sit/stand together....replicate the noise/atmosphere felt at away games. Unfortunately we all know this isn't possible. I also am of the opinion that even though the chaddy end is badly designed for vocals, the opening of the rochdale road end to Oldham fans has made the atmosphere worse. I grew up supporting United, went to watch oldham for the first time in 2000 as a 15 year old. The expectations were low but I loved the atmosphere. If I was going as a 15 year old now, I wouldn't find BP as enthralling as I did back then

Us pub footballers turn out in any condition to play football, on worse pitches than they do. I would train 9-5 every day if I got paid for it

YES! Don't try and farm him out on loan now DP !!!!!

That was David Jones mate not Daniel Jones...he'd be nowhere near good enough for Wolves 1st team

An ex latics keeper in net for Crewe by the looks of things. Wonder what our XI was?????

We're all cheapskates.....

makes you wonder why they took him on loan then??

Do however remember reading an article where Lee Clark did state that the owners had told him he has to get promotion this year as they have based their funding on Championship revenue....guess you could say the pressure is on!

Rochdale have always played good stuff, I remember the cup last season when we went down to 10 men and could hardly get the ball off them. Not so sure they will go up this year though, bit like Bury in that they have had their chance. Hope Dale Stephens gets on the pitch soon.

Because he can only cut inside onto his right to shoot, put him on the right and he doesn;t like going round the outside and if he cuts in his left foot isn't the strongest

Anybody know what deal they have Lisbie on? Would be worth an enquiry if we had the funds and were also able to free up a bit of the wage bill.

Not sure about having him over Lewi but definitely over O'Grady. I'm personally of the opinion that if he has a bit of security he will perform better, I don't necessarily buy into the notion that a short term deal forces a player to perform better...sometimes the player can put himself under too much pressure rather than letting his natural Instincts take over. I'd give him to the end of the season budget permitting.

A certain darren Byfield scored the inning penalty.....http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=511856