Joe Royle had set Oldham a survival target of five wins from their last seven home games and he believed that they could start it with a shock win over premier league leaders Manchester United. Basement side Oldham had lost seven of their previous eight matches while United was on top of the league with 12 wins of their last 16 matches.
Royle insisted that the occasion of a full boundary park excited his men.
Joe Royle said “We need a kick start to our season, and this match would be a great game to do it. We have been known to do the unexpected and if we can get five wins from the remaining seven games at our place we will have a great chance of staying up.”