Party pooper Warnock warns Wanderers

He took impish delight in claiming a moral derby victory that was enthusiastically appreciated by the Boundary Park faithful who have long been resigned to relegation.

And he revelled in the fact that he'd damaged Wanderers' hopes of completing the historic double century.

But there was sporting sincerity in his advice to Bolton fans not to expect miracles in the Premiership.

Warnock saw his relegation-doomed Latics frustrate the Champions in an easily forgettable scoreless derby and cautioned: "They'll be the underdogs next season and they'll have to scrap for their lives.

"They had to fight hard against us on Saturday and they'll have to battle week in and week out in the Premiership because there will be times when they won't be able to play their fluent football."

Warnock knows only too well how difficult it can be for promoted clubs to establish themselves in the top flight. He took Notts County up in 1991 - ironically via a play-off victory over Colin Todd's Middlesbrough - only to see them come straight back down. So he drew on that experience as he preached his cautionary tale.

"They mustn't go up thinking that because they've walked this division life will be easy for them," he warned. "They have to keep their feet on the floor.

"But Colin Todd isn't daft. Bolton look to be a well organised club and they'll have a super new stadium to look forward to. There'll be cash to spend but they'll have to be careful who they buy.

"And cash isn't everything. I think they've gone a long way this season because of the spirit in their dressing room. That has been an important part of their success.

"Bolton will have problems in the Premiership but, if they finish fourth from bottom they should be happy."

Wanderers are understandably much more ambitious than that but they know from their own experience that there are no easy rides, whether the opposition comes from the Premiership penthouse or the First Division basement.

They certainly had to fight on Saturday and there were precious few occasions when they were allowed to get into the thoroughbred stride that has turned the championship into a one-horse race.

But one off-day can't overshadow the stylish success they have enjoyed in a soaraway season that has left their rivals enviously trailing in their wake. Far better teams than Oldham have tried and failed to put a spoke in their wheels but Warnock's warriors, still desperately searching for an escape route, succeeded and, as Colin Todd acknowledged: "You have to give them credit."

That said, although this was only the second time this season that Wanderers have failed to score, Keith Branagan and his back four had the satisfaction of achieving their sixth clean sheet in the last 10 games - just to prove that there's more to this side than a formidable attack.

Oldham just had the edge in terms of scoring chances - a strong first half penalty appeal when Jimmy Phillips had a tug at Matthew Rush and two misses when Sean McCarthy and substitute David McNiven fluffed headers that might have given them a glimmer of survival hope.

Wanderers' opportunities were more spectacular but equally disappointing. Jamie Pollock's scorching 33rd-minute volley bounced off the inside of the post and Gary Kelly produced an outstanding save from Nathan Blake after Mixu Paatelainen and Scott Sellars had combined in one of the few moves that lived up to the towering standards Todd's players have set themselves.

"We didn't go out there to play negative football," the manager explained. "You've just got to give the opposition credit for making it difficult for us.

"It was disappointing but we've gone 44 games now and there haven't been many performances like that.

"We've set extremely high standards but this time we fell short of them. We've had an incredible season but somewhere along the line there's going to be a day when things won't always go your way and this was one of them.

"Before we went out I told the players that this was Oldham's cup final and, if we didn't pass the ball as we know we can, we might have problems."

Todd also suspected Warnock was playing a psychological card with his pre-match admission that Oldham were already relegated - and he was right.

The wily Latics boss, who is in the middle of negotiating a contract that will keep him at Boundary Park, admitted: "I'd been telling the fans all week that it was all over and I wanted Bolton to get the message. I knew people were coming to the game expecting to see a few goals and I was well aware they were going for the 100 goals and 100 points.

"We set our stall out to stop them and I don't think they will have had a harder game than we gave them.

"Considering the position we are in it would have been easy to lie down and let a team like Bolton stroll through us. They've walked the league and they've been magnificent and it gives me a lot of satisfaction to put a team out that made it difficult for them. I think we outfought them.

"You'd expect Bolton to pass it around a lot but we didn't let them. I enjoyed the confrontation, which is what my teams are about."

Conditions didn't help either side but they were stacked against Wanderers. A bone-dry pitch that offered no assistance to the more accomplished passing team, Warnock firing up his players to the extent of giving young midfielder Richard Graham slugs of whisky for Dutch courage before the game and again at half time, and an over-zealous trio of officials who made it a stuttering, stop-start game of 49 free kicks.

Latics never let Wanderers settle and consequently it was Jamie Pollock with his few-frills, high-energy approach rather than the more stylish Sellars or Thompson who made the biggest impact in midfield.

They didn't create much at all while Blake and Paatelainen struggled for the want of quality service and under the close scrutiny of Serrant, Garnett and Hodgson.

The back four had a few untidy, anxious moments typified when the ever-reliable Chris Fairclough was caught in possession and dashed back desperately to unceremoniously and uncharacteristically hack down Stuart Barlow.

For all Oldham's efforts, Branagan wasn't severely tested at any point in the game but he still stood head and shoulders above a scruffy crowd with his pristine performance.

"Branny's been absolutely impeccable since he came back into the side," Todd said in tribute to the Republic of Ireland international who has conceded just eight goals in 12 games since regaining the No 1 spot from Gavin Ward.

"He looks bright, sharp and his handling and positioning has been excellent.

"The defence takes a lot of satisfaction from a clean sheet because they've taken a wee bit of flak on occasions."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.