MIKE FORD spoke of his pride at the amount of Oldham supporters at Keighley, in the wake of Sunday’s defeat, writes Kasey Smith

Oldham were cheered on at Cougar Park with one of their biggest away followings in recent memory with around 400 supporters packed into the stand behind the posts.

Despite defeat, a huge chunk stayed after the hooter to applaud Roughyeds off the field – something Oldham’s managing director said was “inspiring”.

“It really shows where we have come in 12 months,” said Ford. “To see that many people at an away game was fantastic.

“The most pleasing aspect was how they supported us throughout the loss. People are getting behind us and that is exactly what we want.

“It is so inspiring for the team when you’ve got that backing and hopefully we will see them all against Crusaders this weekend, because we need them again.”

Ford refused to panic after Sunday’s shock defeat, insisting the loss has made the club more intent on securing promotion.

“We’re still on track with what we want to achieve,” he said. “It has potentially made us more determined to achieve our goals.

“This club has a lot of fight in it, and we are going to pick ourselves up this week.

“The loss will make us analyse a little bit deeper, you always learn more when you suffer a defeat, and hopefully going through that process we will come out of it a better side.

“When you step back and reflect a little bit, we know how difficult this year is going to be.

“Teams are going to be up to play against us every single week and, from our point of view, we need to be tough mentally every single week.

“We’re on a journey as a club and there’s going to be some bumps and bruises along the way and adversity that we will have to deal with.

“When you are trying to achieve something great you have to deal with all those obstacles and learn from them.”