Naylor’s sights on new faces

OLDHAM RL Club is stepping up efforts to add to a squad coach Scott Naylor believes is already stronger than the one that finished second in Championship One last season.

Naylor has set his sights on at least two and ideally three additions before the start of the season in early March.

A factor will be the outcome of talks with Super League club Salford, with whom Roughyeds were partnered last season as part of the RFL’s dual-registration policies.

Oldham chairman Chris Hamilton said: “For a while now we have been working hard behind the scenes to make more signings. Some negotiations are taking a lot longer than we would have liked.

“Fans can be assured that we know the areas we need to strengthen and we are working hard to make it happen.”

Naylor, half way through a two year contract as head coach, built a new team virtually from scratch on his arrival at Whitebank in the autumn of 2012.

In his first season at the club his new squad was good enough to finish second with 41 points from a possible 48 and with the best away record in the division.

With the start of his second year at Oldham rapidly approaching (the first warm-up game at Barrow is a week on Sunday), Naylor is happy with the quality of the squad he has assembled so far, but recognises the need for greater depth.

“We are a little bit short on numbers and there are a couple of areas we need to strengthen,” he explained. “I’m trying to use my contacts to bring in two or three new men of a quality, which would give us a really strong squad.”