Bogle challenged to '˜find himself'

That’s the message from interim boss Graham Barrow, who reckons the £1million January deadline-day arrival from Grimsby has lost his way somewhat in the last few weeks, after initially hitting the ground running in the north west.

Two goals on his first start against Norwich on February 7 hinted at the quality the striker possesses. But he’s scored only once in the following nine matches – a penalty at QPR – and has cut a forlorn figure in recent weeks as he’s ploughed the lone furrow up top without success.

“Omar’s been smashing since he came in to the club,” Barrow acknowledged.

“We’ve been making demands on him, and I think he could do with this rest to find himself again.

“It’s all become about him a little bit – and he needs to become a better team player.”

Meanwhile, Latics chief executive Jonathan Jackson met with a number of fans’ representatives at the DW Stadium to discuss a number of issues surrounding the club.

Perhaps the most interesting was an update on the much-maligned playing surface, with stadium manager Andy Birch on hand to reveal the club have identified and tackled several issues that were causing problems.

And the hope is that an upturn in the weather as the weeks go by will lead to the condition of the surface improving accordingly.

Jackson (below) also admitted there was a desire within the club to eventually install a ‘Desso’ pitch – a hybrid grass system used by a number of clubs in the Premier League and NFL clubs, at multi-functional stadia – although the cost of doing so was a prohibitive factor at the moment.