Moore: Get in the real world, Oldham

Nov 6 2007 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post

TRANMERE manager Ronnie Moore believes his former club Oldham need to swallow a dose of realism about how football is played in League One ahead of their clash at Prenton Park tonight.

The likeable Moore, whose straight-talking no nonsense style has endeared him to supporters at both Rovers and Rotherham, surprisingly failed to hit it off with a significant section of the faithful at Boundary Park during his stint as manager.

Though he could hardly be labelled as a long-ball merchant, it seems that Oldham’s style of play under Moore was not aesthetically pleasing enough for some Latics fans who continue to let him know when the sides meet.

He said: “It was unique for me that the crowd at Oldham didn’t really take to me. I don’t know why. We finished 10th in the league when I was there which was the highest they’d finished in a long time.

“Things happen sometimes and I think the expectations at Oldham are Premier League.

“Because they’ve been in the Premier League they want to get back into the Premier League.

“I think they’ve been used to Premier League-type football – pass, pass, pass.”

Moore added: “It’s very difficult at this level. You look at this level now, there’s not a lot of teams who play like that.”

Moore crossed the Pennines to join Oldham after seven-and-a-half years in charge at Millmoor but lasted just 15 months at Boundary Park between March 2005 and June 2006.

But having returned to Tranmere, his first love in football, he insists that he is not bothered by any criticism the away fans dish out at him tonight.

He said: “I’m a big boy now, I’m over 21 and I can take any stick that they want to throw at me.

“I just hope that we can perform, play well and do the right things.

“I’ve no animosity at all with the chairman, he made a decision there and I know all the lads and backroom staff there.”

The visit of Oldham to Prenton Park gives Tranmere’s players an early opportunity to bounce back after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Moore said: “We want to have another game quickly, especially after the second half performance at Forest which wasn’t good. We were never under any pressure but we gifted them a free shot from 12 yards.

“The great thing now is that the players don’t have to wait a week and think about it, they’ve got a game straight away, which becomes a very important one for us now.

“The disappointing thing for us is that it would have put a nice little gap between Forest and ourselves.

“But I believe if you finish a point behind Forest you’re not going to be too far away.”

One positive Moore took from the game at the City Ground was that on-loan left-winger Kevin Cooper got another chance to sharpen his match fitness, playing 64 minutes before being replaced by Craig Curran.

Moore said: “Kevin did okay. I changed it just to get something different.

“Coops has got roughly one-and-a-half games under his belt now and I think we’ll see the best of him against Oldham.”

Moore does not expect injured duo Chris Shuker and Calvin Zola to have recovered in time for tonight’s game but he hopes to have them both back in time for Saturday’s FA Cup first round trip to Chesterfield.

Meanwhile, John Mullin is expected to be pushing for a return next week after being given the all-clear by a specialist following his ankle injury.