CALLUM Whelan hopes Oldham Athletic can take another "massive step" away from the League Two relegation zone this weekend.

Latics climbed out of the bottom two for the first time since November with last weekend's win over Bradford City at Boundary Park.

And they could potentially put even more distance between themselves and the drop zone today when head to a Colchester United side that sit one place and two points above them in the table, having played two games more.

Carlisle United replaced Oldham in the bottom two following last weekend's 3-0 defeat at Swindon Town, leading them to a managerial change at Brunton Park.

And with the Cumbrians to come to Boundary Park a week on Saturday, following a midweek trip to Crawley Town, this is a significant period for John Sheridan's side.

"They're games we're looking at that if you win them it's a massive step in the right direction," said Whelan, who revealed a new-found confidence has been instilled in the side under Sheridan, reflected in a five-game unbeaten run since he returned to the club last month.

"It's always a better environment when you're winning games and we're unbeaten since the new manager's come in, it's given everyone a lift - the fans, the club, the players.

"It's an enjoyable place to come and we're confident.

"He (Sheridan) has been brilliant since he's come in, results show that.

"We approach every game the same way. The manager always says we want to win games, we'll never go into a game not wanting to win."

Not much has changed in the way of personnel, with Sheridan only able to sign two free agents in Mike Fondop and Tope Obadeyi since taking charge. And that makes it all the more frustrating for Whelan that Latics have left it late to find their form this season.

"It's not been good enough at all for however many months," the midfielder admitted. "It's taken too long to kick in that we have to dig in and work hard because we've got good players, it was just getting everyone together on the same page, working hard and the last few games have showed that.

"We're all just frustrated that it's February that we've started picking results up and putting in some really good performances as well.

"There are still lots of games to play, and now we know the standards and the bar has been set for where we need to get every game so there's no excuses from now until the end."