Keith Curle believes he has a rising star on his hands in Latics youngster Harry Vaughan.

The teenager replaced Alfie McCalmont for the final 10 minutes of Saturday's 2-1 defeat at home to League Two's bottom side Grimsby.

It was his fifth first-team appearance, all off the bench, for Latics and the academy product again caught the eye.

And in a pointed remark Curle also highlighted the youngster's attitude, commending him for being grounded, something the Oldham boss does not necessarily believe is the case throughout the dressing room.

"I like little Harry, he's got a hunger about him," Curle said.

"He doesn't get fazed by anything, he's tenacious and he wants to improve and he wants to develop.

“Probably the best thing I like about him is he hasn't got an inflated ego about himself, and some of those players in the changing room I have to tell them they're not as good as what they think they actually are.

"People might think that's disrespectful but sometimes you see players who think they don't need to do the simple things.

“You need to do the simple things as a platform to build, because if you don't do the simple things you can't build, you end up with a foundation made of sand."

Another substitute on Saturday was forward Marcus Barnes, the ex-Southampton man playing the final half an hour against the Mariners.

Having trained with the club before being signed to a short-term deal by Harry Kewell in January, the 24-year-old has been restricted to six substitute appearances due to injury.

He is one of a number of players out of contract in the summer with their futures in the balance.

"Marcus is a player that's been itching to get game time," Curle said.

"He's worked extremely hard and it's just a case of getting that game time as and when he earns it."