A LATICS fans’ group feels the appointment of Keith Curle would be the start of bringing some much needed stability to the club.

The Oldham Athletic Supporters Foundation, recently rebranded from Trust Oldham, have got a representative on the Latics board and would welcome securing Curle on a longer-term deal, despite a disappointing end to last season.

Philippa Whittaker, finance director of OASF, feels it would be a step in the right direction to have someone of the experience and calibre of Curle, after a succession of fledgling managers whose tenures were short-lived.

“We would be happy with Keith Curle. He is an experienced with a good track record,” she said.

“We lost the last three games and it was a downbeat end to last season which has reignited discontent among supporters.

“But you’ve got a lot of players who are moving on and know they are safe... and also trying out one or two younger players, looking at the longer term and developing them.

“One of the problems clearly is, if you look around, I’ve been involved in the EFL governance project and regular changes of manager don’t produce long term success. You might get short term success but eight or nine managers in three years is not the way to develop.

“You need to bring through younger players and to do that you need stability at manager level.”

Once the managerial situation is finalised, with Curle set to be confirmed longer term in the Boundary Park hotseat, having initially arrived in March in a deal until the end of the season, Whittaker hopes attentions will turn to fostering stability within the squad.

“We need to get players on longer term contracts,” she continued.

Supporters are hoping for better times ahead when they return to Boundary Park

Supporters are hoping for better times ahead when they return to Boundary Park

“We’ve had a complete change around in the playing squad. We’ve not appointed a manager early enough and we’re getting what’s left (in the market) at the end of August.

“In a race we are starting 10 yards behind.

“We get a number of players dragged from here, there and everywhere, they don’t know each other, we make a lousy start then immediately we are looking over our shoulders.

“We want to see an experienced manager appointed, we want him in place and allowed to build a squad and bring the youth players through.”

By taking a seat on the club board, with Paul Hughes voted to be their representative, OASF are aiming to give Latics fans a voice and help to bridge the ever widening gap between the club and supporters.

Their mission statement is “to ensure the existence of a successful and well-supporter and inclusive professional football club based in Oldham MBC; to act as the official and representative supporters’ group which holds shares in the club; to hold the club accountable”.

In addition, securing a manager to take the club forward is central to their short and medium term priorities, targeting “the right appointment of a competent and experienced manager/head coach with a proven record in League One/Two level on a three-year contract and to be allowed time to develop the squad over that period and an end to constant replacement of head coach.”

They are also pushing for the manager to “have a strong say on movements in and out of the club” as well as “higher retention rate of players and players signing longer contracts to allow for longer-term squad cohesion”.