The Bolton boss will take his side to Boundary Park tomorrow night looking for a sixth straight victory in all competitions.

Back in 2004, a managerial change left an unhappy Schumacher in limbo with the Latics and seeking a quick return to Everton. But with the benefit of experience, he can now use that same story to give his own players a heads-up on why testing themselves on loan is such an important part of their development.

“It was a long, long, long, long, long time ago,” Schumacher smiled. “I went on loan there in my last season at Everton whilst John Sheridan was the manager.

“I didn’t actually play a game for Oldham, they changed manager the weekend that I went there and I didn’t get picked in any of the squads. It was a bit of a wasted loan but I did train there for a month – and it was part and parcel of growing up.

“Young players, when they go out on loan, sometimes it really works for you, sometimes it doesn’t. That one was definitely one that didn’t work, but it was experience, I learned from it.”

Wanderers have sent a handful of their younger players out on loan this season including Luke Hutchinson (to Altrincham), Ollie Smith (to Halifax) and Sam Inwood (to Aldershot Town).

Schumacher hopes to soon get a couple more of his younger players out to gain some senior experience.

“It’s a really important part of a young player’s development,” he said. “As I have said before, the B Team is really important , to a point, but there is a time when you need to get out there and play men’s football, so hopefully that can happen for a few more.”

Oldham currently sit 14th in League Two and have scored just 13 times in their opening 15 league games – the worst record of any club with the exception of Cheltenham Town. Yet they also boast the best defensive record, having conceded just 12 goals.

Their form at Boundary Park has been solid, if not spectacular, with just one win and four draws to show for their seven outings so far.

Defeats against Manchester City’s Under-21s and Rotherham United mean the Latics cannot progress to the next round and manager Micky Mellon has indicated that he will make several changes after the weekend win at Harrogate.