Oldham Athletic's 116-year enactment successful the English Football League ended successful ignominy successful 2022.
The Latics picked up the unenviable grounds of becoming the archetypal erstwhile Premier League nine to driblet retired of the apical 4 tiers of English football.
Three years connected from that chastening relegation, 1 antheral who has seen the nine astatine its lowest ebb has acceptable astir starring the complaint backmost to league football.
BBC Radio Manchester spoke to striker Mike Fondop astir however helium has motivated himself to pb Oldham to glory successful Sunday's National League promotion last against Southend United astatine Wembley.
The 31-year-old arrived astatine the nine during Oldham's ill-fated 2022 play but injuries restricted him to conscionable 2 appearances.
Despite the nine losing its EFL status, Fondop stuck with the nine and has scored 37 goals successful 113 National League appearances since.
But what encouraged him to enactment astatine Boundary Park?
"The manager astatine the time, John Sheridan, called maine aft the extremity of the play and said 'I request you to travel back. You beryllium maine due to the fact that I signed you and you lone played 2 games. I privation you to get this nine backmost wherever it belongs'," Fondop said.
"So that has ever been an nonsubjective due to the fact that I came and I didn't person a accidental to assistance them enactment successful League Two.
"The nine doesn't beryllium successful League Two, they beryllium higher than that but it is simply a measurement by measurement process."
Between their relegation from League Two and the commencement of the pursuing 2022-23 National League season, a takeover of the Latics by section businessman Frank Rothwell was completed.
That ended Abdallah Lemsagam's tenure successful power of the nine and Fondop said that the quality betwixt past and present is stark.
"The nine is perfectly antithetic now. The ownership present is much household orientated. The owners are approachable and privation everyone to consciousness portion of a family," helium added.
"In the past it felt toxic. As a subordinate I was focused connected what I was signed to bash but the situation astatine the clip felt toxic. Now it is truthful different.
"If a nine doesn't dainty its players good you mightiness deliberation successful the agelong tally you tin get distant with it, you mightiness for a play of time, but yet it is going to impact results. Now the attraction is wholly different."
Oldham are not a nine which person had overmuch to observe successful caller decades, having floated astir the little leagues of English shot some earlier and aft the crook of the millennium - having spent 21 years successful the 3rd tier anterior to relegation to League Two successful 2018.
Their astir caller promotion came successful 1991 erstwhile they won the then-Division Two 2nd tier championship.
Their caller grounds makes for grim reading. Their archetypal play successful the National League saw them decorativeness 12th and was the archetypal clip they had finished successful the apical fractional of a part since 2009.
Fondop said a squad speech from brag Micky Mellon astir however agelong it had been since the nine had won promotion helped motivate him up of the travel to the capital.
"It has been 34 years since we experienced promotion. I'm 31 truthful past clip they won promotion I wasn't adjacent born," Fondop added.
"After the gaffer said that I went location and wrote down 34 years successful bold connected a portion of insubstantial with my goals for the play and I enactment it connected my room wall. It's ever successful my mind.
"It's successful my caput each time due to the fact that I privation to beryllium portion of past and I privation the fans to get backmost into the feeling of what Oldham deserves. It means much than radical mightiness think. It's successful my room until contiguous and I'm not going to region it until it is done."
As for however helium plans to easiness his nerves up of moving retired astatine Wembley, Fondop has an eclectic and varied euphony taste.
"On gamedays I perceive to gospel and that is what calms me," helium said.
"I emotion Andrea Bocelli, Time To Say Goodbye is 1 of my favourites.
"I emotion jazz euphony arsenic well, I don't person 1 circumstantial benignant of song, I emotion a spot of everything. Usually successful my downtime I tin perceive to opera and jazz. I don't similar listening to things that springiness maine headaches."
English (US) ·