I may be playing in League One at the moment but that hasn’t stopped me taking an interest in the Premier League relegation race where I’m hoping my former club Middlesbrough will turn things around.
At the moment they’re second from bottom and struggling to find any kind of form and I know Gareth Southgate will be feeling the pressure.
He was my captain when I was at the club and the one thing I know for certain is that he has the backing of the best chairman in the Premier League.
I think Gareth more than anyone was surprised when he was given the role when Steve McClaren left and think he has done a great job at the club. He’s brought through a good young crop of English talent and even now when the pressure is on he’ll be feeling confident of getting out of it.
When I was at the club and we were struggling our boss Bryan Robson brought Terry Venables in to help out and the first thing Terry did was to make sure we tightened up at the back – and that’s exactly what Boro need to do now.
If they make themselves hard to beat I’m pretty sure that guys like Marlon King, who of course I played with Hull, and Tuncay have enough about them to grab a goal or two.
A 1-0 win at Manchester City on Saturday would be a great place to start a recovery and I hope they can pull it off.
As for me I’m still looking for my first goal for Oldham and am kicking myself for missing a good chance in Saturday’s goalless draw against Swindon. It was a volley I should have put away.
That said, after our defeat at Scunthorpe it was great to keep a clean sheet and a good boost to our confidence ahead of Saturday’s big game with Leicester.
To be truthful, a club like Leicester shouldn’t even be in this division but they are and Nigel Pearson is doing a great job of leading them back into the Championship.
The game will be on TV and it’s a real chance for some of the young lads at the club to show what they’re made of.
People talk about bravery in football but for me it’s not about making a big tackle or getting stuck in, but about getting your foot on the ball and making a difference. This is the perfect stage for them to do that.
