CHRIS Waddle urged his side to restore their self-belief in time for tomorrow's crucial Lancashire derby at Oldham tomorrow.

The Clarets player-manager had seen his side grind out a 0-0 draw against a physical Chesterfield at Turf Moor on Boxing Day.

And he expected more bully-boy tactics at Boundary Park against Neil Warnock's high-flying outfit.

Waddle, who was pleased with the commitment of his players and the fans' reaction yesterday, said: "We have got to match Oldham physically.

"And we have got to go there with belief."

The contrasting fortunes of the two clubs are reflected by the experience of the two bosses.

Waddle will not celebrate six months in his first managerial post until early in the New Year.

Compare that to Oldham's Neil Warnock who is, arguably, English football's most successful play-offs manager and has been given time to pick up the pieces following last season's relegation.

This week, he snapped up Barnsley full back Neil Thompson on loan - the two having worked together at Scarborough a decade ago.

The Oldham boss has not given up hope of catching the Second Division's top two.

But, if it comes to the play-offs, he certainly knows his way around Wembley, having won there four times in six years to achieve promotion with Notts County (twice), Huddersfield and Plymouth. "The form book goes out of the window in derby games and you cannot predict what will happen, they are hit-and-miss affairs," said Warnock.

"But we need to start putting a good run together.

"The top two will probably be thinking they are already up but only half the season has gone.

"It's got to be our goal to go after the top two but if we play as we have done in the first half of the season the play-offs will be the best we can hope for."

Shaun Garnett is suspended tomorrow, while left back Carl Serrant faces a lay-off after cartilage surgery.

Oldham have the only unbeaten home record in Division Two and went into the Christmas programme as the top home scorers.

But Waddle remained resilient after the Chesterfield display.

"The effort was there and the commitment was there. We matched them physically again.

"I couldn't fault the commitment of the players.

"The crowd had a bit of a joke when they cheered shots but I think we won them over.

"There were a few murmurs of boos at the end but the majority clapped.

"I might be a bit biased but I thought we deserved it over 90 minutes," he insisted.

Gerry Harrison will need a check on a hamstring twinge before Waddle selects his side.

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