The inquest into the season was already well under way when Micky Mellon gave Latics supporters something else to dissect.

His press conference after defeat to Wealdstone put the tin lid on a terrible end to the season, and at the same time opened up a can of worms.

The Oldham boss was only posed three questions on camera but spent 15 or so minutes getting a lot of what had troubled him this term off his chest. But it left a lot of it wide open to debate and speculation. For example, when he said: "There's more going on and we've had a really tough time here since the first day we came here.

"It's not been difficult, it's been close to impossible, but we've just kept our head down and we haven't spoken about this until today because I didn't think it was right."

He never specified, though, what "this" was, though, and unfortunately the opportunity to ask follow-up questions and get some clarity was denied.

Mellon also referred to a section of supporters as "idiots", adding that some comments were "stupid".

He accused the club's press officer of "lazy journalism" for asking why the season had fallen to pieces, and refuted that it had because they had drawn with Chesterfield, Southend, Rochdale and Halifax.

"They couldn't beat us," he said, suggesting a run of 11 games without a win wasn't as bad as it looked.

For me 'lazy journalism' is often a lazy criticism; a throwaway comment with little or no substance in most scenarios when it is trotted out. A harder working person than the club's media manager you could not wish to meet, for one. He is the antithesis of "lazy". Plus this was a team that was fourth in February and eyeing up the top two play-off places finished 10th, four points adrift of seventh... it's a complete capitulation! If a manager were to start a season like that there wouldn't even be a debate.

Mellon has repeatedly mentioned that most of this season's players remain under contract for next. On Saturday he effectively said he cannot work with them in the way that he wants to.

For an owner or board member this must surely raise more than an eyebrow, given the number of supporters who have already suggested they will not be renewing their season ticket next year. This latest admission does not inspire confidence in the prospect of success - or even something to get excited about - going forward, especially if those players who have been advised to find other clubs are unable to do so. What impact does that have on the budget and, moreover morale?

Mellon said his squad was in need of "major surgery" for next season, but his relationship with the supporters needs some repair work too.

Latics fans have backed the boys in blue at home, despite having only six wins to celebrate at Boundary Park all season, and they have travelled in vast numbers.

But for a game that could have kept Oldham in the play-off hunt against a rival for seventh spot, they took one of their smallest followings of the season. Just 308 made the trip for the Halifax game at Chesterfield, where they had packed the away end back in August.

Yes, the fixture had been rescheduled and relocated at short notice, and I know some supporters who would have gone had it not been for work or other prior commitments. But there were many more that simply just did not want to go. They voted with their feet, and did so on the final day of the season too, with their lowest Saturday attendance at Boundary Park this term.

Morale among the players feels as low as I've experienced in my time covering the club, even in the dark days of exiting the Football League. Going 11 games without a win will do that, but when Dan Gardner was left to celebrate his second goal against Halifax - one that at the time kept play-off hopes alive - alone, it exposed a seemingly deeper problem. 

"If you can't change the player, change the player," is a phrase I have heard a succession of Oldham managers use in recent years, and it is one Mellon has turned to a few times in recent weeks.

Does the same apply to managers?

After Latics again failed to hold onto a lead, given to them by Mike Fondop - who scored what could be his last goals for the club on his return from suspension - and Wealdstone celebrated safety, Mellon spoke like a manager who wanted his future to be taken out of his hands. The board have not bitten, and so they must give him their backing and enable him to build the team he wants.