Simon Grayson, the Leeds United manager, urged his side to show no mercy in their pursuit of promotion from Coca-Cola League One in the wake of this comfortable victory at Boundary Park.
Goals in each half from Neil Kilkenny and Luciano Becchio, a substitute, extended Leeds’s unbeaten run to eight matches, as they maintained a six-point cushion at the top of the table.
Leeds rarely had to extend themselves in the pouring rain, despite a brief flourish from Oldham Athletic at the start, and could even claim the spoils without having to call upon Jermaine Beckford, their leading scorer, who was rested.
Kilkenny converted Max Gradel’s cross in the 37th minute to end the stalemate before Becchio doubled the advantage late on to put the result beyond doubt.
“We are utilising the squad now because of the busy period we have coming up,” Grayson said. “We want to win every game that we play. We’re playing well at the moment and have a lot of belief and confidence. People don’t want to lose their places in the team, which can only be a good thing.
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“The recent results show what a level-headed group of players we have. We need to keep that focus now because we know what we have to do to succeed.”
Dave Penney, the Oldham manager, said: “It was a struggle and Leeds got the result they deserved. They are top quality.”