Oldham Athletic expect to be under new management before their next league game, away to rivals Rochdale.
Interviews have been held this week, with the process ongoing ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie at Altrincham – a battle of two of the National League’s in-form teams.
Speaking to The Oldham Times, Latics chief executive Darren Royle said: “There’s been a huge amount of interest in the position.
“We’re going through a process to look at all the applicants and screen applicants and also get a list of people that we think fit the criteria of the job.
“We’re in the process of conducting interviews.”
It is now almost four weeks since Latics parted company with David Unsworth after a run of one win in the opening nine games.
The club had two games a week for the first three weeks, and Royle said the busy fixture schedule had been a factor in the board taking their time over a new appointment, as well as finding the candidate who they believe can get Latics back into the Football League.
“The objective is promotion, as soon as possible,” said Royle.
Of the current timeline in choosing a new manager, he added: “There’s been a factor of the games, the fixtures, the number of applicants and the process that we’ve gone through,” he explained.
“We hope to make a decision in a timely way.”
Latics are hoping the process will have been completed with enough time for Unsworth’s successor to prepare for their derby at Rochdale, where they will be backed by a sell-out away end.
Despite a delay in receiving tickets Oldham are also likely to sell out their entire away allocation of 1,856 at Altrincham, contributing to what is expected to be a sell-out crowd this weekend.
While Latics go into the tie on the back of a six-game unbeaten streak, Altrincham are boosted by a five-game winning run.
Nevertheless, despite being drawn at home, Alty boss Phil Parkinson says his side could not have had a tougher tie.
“Oldham are a Goliath in this division and we could not have had a more difficult draw,” he said.
“Some people might suggest Chesterfield would have been, but it honestly doesn’t get any harder in terms of bragging rights and everything else that comes with the two teams’ locality, plus the fact they are not far behind us in the form table.
“It should be the tie of the round, really.
“We are bang in form and they are a huge team and we are going to need our A game to get through.
“When you speak about the FA Cup, you want a big gate, and when you look at the numbers we are expecting, it should be a really entertaining game and a great occasion.”
