DAVID Unsworth has urged Oldham Athletic to stick together and keep fighting after a third league defeat on the spin left them in the relegation zone.

Latics have played at least one game less than the rest of the division and have two games in hand on the teams immediately above them.

But a 2-0 defeat at home to Barnet has made a difficult task even tougher for a side that have yet to win away from home in the league this season, and are on their travels for the next three games.

Unsworth made four changes to the team that lost their FA Cup first round tie at Wrexham, with Magnus Norman returning in goal, captain Liam Hogan returning after an almost three-month injury lay-off, new loan signing Sydie Peck making his debut in midfield and the returning Peter Clarke making his second debut for the club after completing a loan move from Walsall on the eve of the game.

The changes allowed the Latics boss to play his preferred 4-3-3 formation, and for the first half they looked solid and organised.

But conceding just before the hour, when Idris Kanu finished well, knocked the stuffing out of them, and as they searched for an equaliser they left themselves vulnerable at the back, with Harry Pritchard sealing the win for Barnet, who moved up to seventh, in the 87th minute.

"The performance in the first half was good, saw a lot of good things. It sounded like a team before the start of the game, the messages, some of the chances we created in the first half were good and should have taken them. It was solid performance, and then the goal kills us. Goals change games," said Unsworth.

"Then we chase the game and we concede a second. It's very similar to the manner in which it's being going sort of the whole of the season really, and we just couldn't get back into the game."

Asked about the manner of the goals, Unsworth added: "It's difficult to be critical of Hogs because it's his first game back. He's come back and he's desperate to play and he dives in when he might have just held him up and to be fair to the kid he does well for the first goal. It's a team game and we all have to take that responsibility.

"It's just difficult. We've got to keep going. It's a bit of a sucker punch today. It felt good this week, it felt good before the game, first half, the messages at half-time, a lot of positive things, then the first goal kills us. We're chasing it, we go more attacking, we gamble and then we concede the second.

"We've got to stick together. It's a long season and we've got to pick ourselves up and go again."