DINO Maamria believes he has stabilised Oldham Athletic on the field and wants that to continue into the summer months.

Latics are currently 19th in League Two with the coronavirus pandemic having brought the campaign to an abrupt halt last month.

Maamria, who arrived in September after Frenchman Laurent Banide lasted just 11 games in the Boundary Park hotseat, overhauled his squad in the January transfer window and does not want to be doing the same again whenever the current season ends.

The EFL are working towards a June 6 resumption and then want the campaign – Latics having nine games left to play – to be wrapped up in 56 days.

“There was a lot of change at Oldham Athletic last summer and this summer I’m hoping not to make too many changes,” said Maamria, currently on furlough leave like the vast majority of Latics’ non-playing staff.

“After January I don’t want to make 15 changes again.

“I would like to keep the majority of the squad I’ve got and then bring five or six of better quality in and then next season, whenever that starts, we’ll be in much better shape to play the type of football we’re trying to produce at Oldham Athletic.”

While Maamria may not be officially at work and is unable to pass on instructions to his players as they try to stay sharp during lockdown, that has not stopped him working and planning for the weeks and months to come.

That includes recruitment where there has been a shift from the foreign imports favoured since Abdallah Lemsagan took charge of the club to more British-based players who are proven commodities in the lower leagues.

“The good thing about having experience in League One and League Two – I’ve been coaching and managing at this level for a long time – is that I know every player like the back of my hand having done my homework,” Maamria told the Oldham Times.

“Any players you throw at me I know exactly what they are and what they’re not.

“I know exactly what type of players I’m trying to recruit for Oldham Athletic, the ones that we can bring in and the ones that we won’t be able to bring in.

“I’m aware of all those things. When we plan properly for next season I think it will be straightforward.

“The key for me is that we don’t want to be under massive pressure to sign lots of players in a short space of time.”

Given the heights fans have known in the not too distant past, their lowly standing in League Two and problems off the field have led to protests from fans’ group Push The Boundary.

A dispute between Lemsagam and Boundary Park owners Brassbank even threatened the club with administration at the start of March.

Maamria’s attentions are on the pitch however and he insists things are on a upward curve as he looks to fashion a team capable of competing at the right end of the Football League’s bottom tier next season.

“I think the team I picked in our last game included seven new faces from January,” he said.

“There was a big change in terms of personnel with about 10 to 15 players going out of the door and seven or eight coming in.

“I brought in some resiliency that I thought we were lacking and obviously things will take time to gel but we’ve had some tremendous games especially at home.

“Games against Bradford, Mansfield, Newport. When everything clicked together we looked a fantastic team.

“There’s always going to be teething problems when you put seven new players into a team together but we’re making progress.”