TOUGH TASKS FOR VOCAL DINO AND STUDIOUS MARK

OLDHAM had a new man in charge yesterday against Morecambe with Dino Maamria in the hotseat after signing a two-year deal to replace Laurent Banide The Frenchman was sacked after a tough run brought just one League Two victory from their opening nine games. A not too dissimilar run cost Maamria his job at Stevenage a couple of weeks ago. He only got three points out of a possible 21, no doubt hindered by a lengthy injury list. Maamria led Stevenage to 10th place last season, missing out on the play-offs by a single point. However, a poor start this term put paid to his spell as boss and his assistant Mark Sampson, below, has been put in charge. I know both Dino and Mark quite well as they were on my Pro Licence course. Both are very likeable characters and I got on well with them. Dino is more outgoing and vocal, while Mark is the studious type who is like a sponge soaking up whatever little nuggets he can get. He has a little notebook in which he writes a lot of his thoughts and ideas, and I loved his passion to improve himself. Mark takes great pride in the detail he goes into, which is meticulous, and no one can doubt the success he had with England Women, who he took to third at the 2015 World Cup. He has had a tough start, though, losing to Carlisle (3-2) and Northampton (1-0) at home. The work-rate and effort was outstanding and I’m sure the results will come but they have to stop conceding late goals, something which has cost them dear this season. Sampson has work to do to arrest the slide but the players seem positive. At Oldham, Maamria will be hoping for a similar impact to the one he had when he first took over at Stevenage. I wish them both well.