LUKE Beckett may be in line to start for Oldham Athletic when they face AFC Bournemouth at Boundary Park on Saturday.

The striker has stepped up his training since recovering from a knee injury and may replace either Chris Porter or Chris Killen who were set to train on Thursday for the first time after they took knocks at Gillingham.

Manager Ronnie Moore also intends to see how Guy Branston fares in training before deciding whether to recall him to the centre of defence.

The centre-half played 65 minutes of the reserves' 1-0 win against Rotherham United in midweek, but saw Terrell Forbes and Gareth Owen produce good displays at Priestfield.

Moore said: "Both strikers haven't done any work this week. They picked up knocks which make them doubtful, though I'd imagine there's an 80/20 chance both will be available.

"The temptation was to start with Luke at Gillingham but I thought Porter's movement would cause them one or two problems. Anything could happen this Saturday though, it may be we have to play Luke because of the injury situation.

"We've missed someone like Guy but the centre-halves did well on Saturday. I'll have to think long and hard, but the chances are Guy will come straight back.

"He will definitely strengthen us with his physical presence, not just in defending but in attacking. When David Eyres delivers a set-piece, you know it will be brilliant and the same applies to Andy Liddell, so we need players brave enough to get their heads on the end of things."

Moore has not seen the Cherries in action, but has received reports from assistant boss John Breckin and chief scout Graham Brown.

Breckin saw them lose 1-0 at Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, while Brown was present at their 2-1 victory against Swindon Town last Saturday.

While Sean O'Driscoll's side have a reputation for getting the ball down and passing, Moore feels that could work against them.

He said: "They overpass if anything and like to be neat and pretty. We have to get into them and stop them having time to pass - they don't play with wide men and sometimes that can cause you some problems.

"We need to start winning at home because that's going to have a big say in whether you go up or down. We've got to try and make Boundary Park a fortress again."

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