HARRY Kewell wants to be given time to make his Latics project come good but is well aware results will dictate just how long he gets at the Boundary Park helm.

The Australian has now taken charge of the same number of Oldham games as his predecessor Dino Maamria, 32, having in August become the sixth permanent appointment by Abdallah Lemsagam since his takeover in January 2018.

Lee Johnson is still the last Latics boss to complete a full season in charge back in 2013-14 with Kewell looking to break the mould as he works on strengthening his squad further in the January transfer window.

He insisted from the moment he walked through the door that it could take years to turn things around, rather than the weeks and months that bosses in the modern game are often afforded.

With success comes time though, something Kewell knows full well as he heads into the second half of the season.

“It’s a fantastic job, I love what I do but I’m not blinded by the fact that if the results aren’t good then fair enough, someone else can do it,” he told The Oldham Times.

“You’ve got to give your all and control what you can control. 

“If you can control that, be organised and do exactly what you want, and people that are around you know what you’re trying to do and they can see it, then they know it’s only going to take time until it clicks.

“Things are happening slowly but surely.

“It’s the same when any new manager comes in. You need time to get your ideas across and build something but we know we are all dependant on results.

“We will need a little bit of luck at times and if we get that little bit of luck we need some breathing space to progress.”

Taking charge of Saturday’s meeting with Newport County will take Kewell to 33 matches in charge, the same as Steve Robinson – who recently left Motherwell – was afforded in the first half of the 2016-17 campaign before being replaced by John Sheridan.

Next on the list of Latics bosses is Mick Wadsworth’s 35 games at the helm. 

The inconsistency of Kewell’s Latics  is summed up by the fact he has both won and lost 14 games and overseen just the four draws.

Oldham have scored 55 goals across the season so far in all competitions, conceding 52.

Kewell has won more matches than both Maamria, nine, and Robinson, seven while seeing off the high-flying Exiles at Boundary Park this weekend would take him level with Wadsworth’s 15 triumphs in the 2001-2002 campaign.

The numbers are small fry however when compared to the club heavyweights.

Joe Royle took charge of 625 matches and Jimmy Frizzell 587 while in more recent times Sheridan was in the Latics dugout 219 times.