Captain on positive week and belief Latics can produce remarkable Sky Bet League One survival.

Jamie Jones | “It’s a privilege to wear the armband every week”
Latics skipper on administration, potential new ownership and a challenging 2020-21 campaign
Jones: ““It's been tough, I’m not going to lie about it. It’s not been a regular season and been the hardest for me by a country mile.”

JAMIE JONES ON POTENTIAL NEW OWNERSHIP…

“This week we’ve had real positive news off the pitch with the potential of the new owners coming in; it’s something that has given us a lift and something that the club needs.

“We all know what a great club this is and who knows why it has taken so long but it’s good progression and hopefully it will be done soon. On the pitch things have turned for us and it might be because of the takeover news as it has given us a lift. We’ve done our best to forget about it and put it to the back of our minds when we’re on the pitch, but sometimes that’s not always been the case.”

JAMIE JONES ON THE LAST TEN MONTHS…

“It's been tough, I’m not going to lie about it. It’s not been a regular season and been the hardest for me by a country mile.

“This club shouldn’t be in League One - let alone fighting for survival - we should be in the Championship and somewhere we belong. This season has been tough both with football matters and the pandemic. We’re all taking a step back in life and working out when things will turn around. But regarding this football club it’s good to see things turning in the right direction. Hopefully the owners can come in, get sorted and give the club what it deserves.

JAMIE JONES ON CAPTAINCY…

“Being captain has been great, I’ve loved every minute and what a club to become captain at. It’s a privilege to wear the armband every week and I just need to put my presence about in the changing room before, during and after the game. Making sure we don’t dwell on mistakes too much and we have a real togetherness as it’s been tough going this season. We’re out of the relegation zone at the moment with 11 games to go but we’re looking forward and not behind us and we want to keep this club in the division.

JAMIE JONES ON SURVIVAL CHANCES…

“Other teams have been written off well before having eleven games to go. We’re still there and we’re still fighting. We’re out of the relegation zone, playing well, scoring goals and we’re not conceding as many as we had been at the back. It’s a massive credit to Leam, the staff and the players. It took a while for us to gel after some players arrived in January, but now we’re getting to know each other better and we’re going into games with confidence we’ve not seen this season. It doesn’t happen overnight and nothing can change that quickly. We work hard on the training pitch to make sure partnerships start gelling and getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We have to show it on the pitch and we’ve done that the last three games with the way we’ve been playing football, creating chances and not conceding chances at the back. Lee Evans coming back has been massive for us, dictating play, having his experience and qualities that he has.

“It’s been hard this season playing Saturday-Tuesday so there isn’t much time [on the training pitch]. But when we do get that chance, 2e are out there making sure we do things right. Some days when we might be off, we’ll come in and make sure we get out shape and tactics right. It’s paying off and we thank Leam and the staff for getting us into a period now where we’re three games unbeaten and looking up.”

Jamie Jones | “It’s a privilege to wear the armband every week”