JOHN Sheridan celebrated his first win back in charge of Oldham Athletic, and thanked the fans for their "unbelievable support".

A 1,500-strong sell-out away end went wild when Junior Luamba came off the bench to score a late winner away to Scunthorpe United, in the battle of League Two's bottom two.

The result narrowed the gap to safety to five points and put some distance between Latics and The Iron, and a delighted Sheridan said: "It was a massive result.

"The lads worked their socks off.

"I knew it would be a tough game, two teams that are fighting for their lives.

"I think the lads performed really well and the three points were deserved."

Soon after replacing Davis Keillor-Dunn, Luamba grabbed the winner in the 83rd minute, converting in front of the away end amid a goalmouth scramble from Nicky Adams' corner.

It sparked scenes of celebration and Sheridan added: "I've been in the game a long time and played in front of big crowds, but I get a lump in my throat when they're like that, and I've said they'll be a big part in us hopefully staying up.

"Unbelievable support.

"They get right behind the team. They've had it difficult themselves but how they support the team, hopefully we can reward them by staying up.

"The following is unbelievable."

Latics had to overcome adversity with Jack Stobbs having to pull out of the starting line-up after getting injured in the warm-up, while new signing Mike Fondop suffered a head injury and had to be substituted midway through the first half.

"Stobbsy was starting and got injured in the warm-up and Mike Fondop, you've just got to be careful with a head injury. We'll assess him and see how he is," said Sheridan.

"You don't need those things to happen but you've got to give credit to the players and how they went about the game.

"I thought we looked a decent team, controlled most parts of the game, got in good areas and I was comfortable in the game but you've always got to be wary.

"I said to them if we can stay strong as a team, as a unit, and stay in games I think now we've got a bit of pace with Junior coming back, Tope coming in, who was excellent.

"I've got big Dylan, I've got Davis, I've got Mike, we've got people who can hopefully score the goals we need to get us out of the position that we're in."

He added: "Junior has claimed the goal. There were a few bodies in there, but sometimes they are the best goals, put the ball into a dangerous area, it drops and you're reactive.

"A clean sheet again, that's a massive plus for us. Lots of good things from the game."