Colin West: Oldham Athletic assistant says team 'need to get hold of each other'

Oldham Athletic assistant Colin West says there "should have been fights" in the dressing room at half-time in their 1-0 defeat by Bristol Rovers.

West has taken charge on a temporary basis after head coach Keith Curle tested positive for Covid-19 last week.

Rovers' win ended an eight-game losing streak while the Latics have lost all three league games so far this season.

"It's not acceptable in my eyes. We need to get hold of each other and start fighting," West said.

"They [Bristol Rovers] were bottom of the league and scrambling around for points, and we didn't turn up. There's not enough men in that dressing room at the moment.

"I said to them, 'I should have come in at half-time and there should have been fights. People should have been having people against the wall.'

"I said 'there's probably six or seven out of this group that I'd want to go to war with and that's not good enough.'"

The defeat and unimpressive performance left Oldham bottom of the League Two table with the club the only team in the league not to pick up a point so far this season.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, West added: "It's a serious concern for us, but whether the players think that, I don't know.

"There will be some who are hurting inside but it's so disappointing that we've been beaten by a team who are low on morale, have just broken a record of eight losses, yet we can't turn them over or give them a real good bash in the first half.

"Everybody nowadays wants to be friends with each other, which is alright but if somebody is not doing their job and it allows you not to do your job properly, then tell them.

"This is where you earn your money. You can't just just say 'oh I don't want to tell him because he might not be my friend anymore' it's not about that."