Furman fires up Latics passion

Furman: Focused

Captain Dean Furman has urged Oldham to battle their way up the League One table following the end of their Wembley dream.

Latics were defeated 1-0 at Boundary Park by Chesterfield on Monday night, meaning a 3-1 aggregate loss in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy northern area final despite dominating for long periods in both legs.

Last month also saw a glamourous FA Cup trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, but in the meantime Paul Dickov's side have won just two of their last 12 league games and slipped to 16th in the table - seven points above the relegation zone.

Furman is set to return from a knee injury for Saturday's home clash with Leyton Orient, and he told the Manchester Evening News: "We're disappointed with our league position considering the players we have.

"We have to be aiming our sights higher than the bottom half of the league and that starts on Saturday. Sometimes a cup run can detract from your league form when you put so much into it but that's gone now.

"We have an important 19 or 20 games coming up where we've got to be spot on in every one. As a player, you want to improve game on game, season on season, so it's important we all pull together."