KEITH Curle is in talks with Latics sporting director Mohamed Lemsagam about his future, but said he would not rush a decision despite only having two weeks remaining on his contract.

The 57-year-old signed a deal until the end of the season when he replaced Harry Kewell last month, after just seven months in charge for the Australian.

Curle has previously indicated to The Oldham Times his intention to stay beyond the end of his current terms. As things stand, the home game against Forest Green on May 8 would be his last.

Stability has been lacking at Boundary Park in recent years, with supporters' group Push The Boundary calling for the Lemsagam brothers, including owner Abdallah, "to rethink their current 'vision' for the club" following Kewell's sacking in March. The former Leeds and Liverpool ace became the 15th managerial departure in six years and the seventh to leave since the change of ownership in 2018.

But having steadied the ship and adopted a system that suits the players, leading to three wins out of the last four games he is well placed to secure the role on a more permanent basis.

Curle has revealed there have been discussions but was reluctant to reveal anything beyond that.

Keith Curle at Boundary Park

Keith Curle at Boundary Park

“I was in contact with Mo before the game (at Harrogate on Tuesday), after the game and yesterday so there is continual dialogue,”

“Obviously he wants to know my thoughts on the game, my thoughts on the individual player performances, which is standard practice.

“There has been dialogue (about the future) but I think it’s dialogue that respectfully needs to remain between myself and the owners."

Asked if, given there is only a fortnight of the season remaining, he would like to know his position sooner rather than later, Curle added: “I don’t put pressure on people and I don’t get pressurised.

“It’s not all about ‘how much do you want to come?’, it’s about identity, the structure that all parties see being a working structure going forward."

Recruitment was another criticism that Push The Boundary directed at the board, after a total of 23 new players arrived in the summer and in the January transfer window.

A statement from the group in response to Kewell's sacking read: “In the last few years, managers have come and gone in quick succession but the one constant that it is impossible to ignore is that the custodians of this club continue to act without thought to the legacy they are destroying with each passing moment they are at the helm. What also stands out is how the current structure at the club, in terms of recruitment and the working relationship between the head coach/sporting director is not working.

“Let us be perfectly clear, this is not about Harry Kewell, it is about the disdain with which fans are being treated, yet again. Whoever is next through the door give them the opportunity to do it their way without interference and free from sporting director control. Only then will we see change.”