OLDHAM boss Scott Naylor, who is half-way through a current two-year deal, will soon be starting out on his seventh season as head coach.

He is the club’s longest-serving team boss since Oldham RLFC (1997) Ltd was launched 21 seasons ago. Since his arrival at what was then known as Whitebank in the autumn of 2012, succeeding New Zealander Tony Benson, he has witnessed highs and lows, including two losing Grand Finals in tier three, promotion to the Championship in 2015 and relegation with an injury-ravaged squad in 2017 after two seasons in tier two.

Naylor must now start all over again in a smaller, 12-club League 1 in 2019 which will comprise six heartland clubs in Oldham, Doncaster, Workington Town or Swinton Lions, Whitehaven, Hunslet and Keighley. They will be joined by Newcastle Thunder, North Wales Crusaders, Coventry Bears, London Skolars, Hemel Stags and West Wales Raiders.

Naylor said: “We need to improve on all fronts so that come the end of next season we are not in this situation again.”

He intimated however, that even in League 1, Roughyeds have to punch above their weight financially.

Meanwhile, the RFL’s match review panel has concluded that the sin-bin was sufficient punishment for three players who got yellow cards at Odsal, namely Oldham’s Lee Kershaw and Gareth Owen and Bradford’s Ross Peltier.