John Sheridan insists he wants Carlisle United to stay up – even though he’s eager to beat them tomorrow.

The Oldham Athletic boss puts his seven-game unbeaten run on the line against the club he managed for half a season in 2018/19.

A key fixture lies ahead in the League Two survival battle with Paul Simpson’s Blues aiming for a third straight win at Boundary Park in front of a big 1,100+ travelling support.

Sheridan, who has revitalised Oldham after returning for a sixth spell at the helm, is keen to continue their current strong form – but says he still remembers his time at Carlisle fondly.

"Ideally I'd like both of us to stay up, ourselves and Carlisle, but 100 per cent I want to beat them on Saturday then they look after themselves,” he said. “I'm only bothered about us.

“But in an ideal world...I've got a lot of fondness for the club. I really really enjoyed it when I was there, but they'll come wanting to beat us so we've got to make sure that doesn't happen.”

Sheridan led United into the automatic promotion places midway through the 2018/19 campaign before leaving for Chesterfield.

Three years on he is back with Oldham and has yet to be beaten in a run which has taken the Latics forward from a position well adrift in the relegation battle.

Tomorrow's hosts are still second bottom but with a fighting chance of survival – as are United, thanks to their back-to-back wins under Simpson, which have put them three points above Oldham in 19th.

Asked about the current Carlisle boss, Sheridan added: “He's an ex-player and a manager who's done really well for them but it's not for me to say.

“He's an experienced manager, I know him well and he'll be just like myself - he'll be wanting to try to do his best to make sure Carlisle stay in the league.

"They'll be wanting to put one over us and hopefully it won't happen.

"They've won the last two, they've got a new manager and they've got a bit of a spring in their step, and they're coming to a team who are in and around them in a similar position, so I expect a really tough game.

"I'm only focused on ourselves because if we do what we've done of late we've got a very good chance of winning.”

Sheridan could include former United players Hallam Hope and Nicky Adams in his side tomorrow, Hope having scored two in Oldham's last three games.