Saturday has to go down as one of, if not THE, worst result in Oldham Athletic’s long history.

Defeat against seventh tier Hendon in the FA Trophy fourth round represents a new low for the club and is a bitterly disappointing blow after a very positive Christmas period of results.

Micky Mellon apologised for the performance and result but, whilst he could perhaps have made the substitutions he made slightly earlier considering the lacklustre display from the starters, the blame has to lie firmly at the door of the players.

Around half the team were given the chance to step up and prove that they are worthy of more game time but didn’t take that chance at all.

Every single one of that team was more than capable of matching and being superior to their opponents but very few came out of the game with any credit at all, as recognised by Mellon post match.

Just as worrying as the overall performance for me was the reaction to getting a lifeline with James Norwood’s equaliser in the 91st minute.

Not only did we not try and go for a winner but we didn’t even get close to seeing the game out with Charlie Raglan having to clear off the line before the eventual winner in the 96th minute after a catalogue of defensive errors.

This was poor game management and leadership from the team on show again and, as mentioned regularly before, is something Mellon will be continuing to work on.

And so, the only way is up as we look to find some consistency in both performance and result over a longer period to ensure we finish the season in one of the sought after play-off spots.

That hope was boosted on Monday with the arrival of a right back, Sai Sachdev, on loan from Sheffield United, to fill a position we have desperately needed to fill for quite some time.

As a former England youth international, he has quite the pedigree and it will be good to see him in a Latics shirt, when he likely makes his debut against Eastleigh at weekend.

Having said that, I do want to pay tribute to Will Sutton, who has never once complained about being played out of position there and who always gives of his best, both defensively and going forward.

He recently achieved his 50th appearance for the club and, for his commitment alone, he deserves that accolade.

I definitely hope we see Sutton improve even more, as he undoubtedly has done over the past few months, to hopefully continue to be a part of our squad for many years to come.