Dave Watson was set to sit out his fifth match in a row at Oldham after failing a fitness test on his head injury and was sidelined for the fourth week running. Watson was carried off in the second match of the season, 24 days earlier, and needed a stretcher to be taken off the park. His manager Howard Kendall who was hoping that Watson would be available for the match after the earlier briefing that he was fit to start.
Howard Kendall said “Dave has had tests and head scans and nothing has shown up. We will be seeking further advice on what the next step is. We gave him a run our yesterday in a practice match and he is still not right in terms of heading the ball. It was a hell of a knock he has taken, when you consider the length of time he has been missing. Of course you miss somebody like that. He is Mr Consistency. This season we should have taken points out of five out the six matches we played in but we only got points from three, that is the biggest disappointment.”