League will only get harder - Naylor

SCOTT Naylor has warned of tough times ahead for Oldham in rugby league's restructured third tier next season.

Grand Final defeat by Hunslet means Naylor's men will operate at this level for the ninth year in a row.

Due to the RFL's far-reaching shake-up, the third division will have five more teams in 2015 than the current nine.

Hunslet return to tier two, but five come down from the Championship – Keighley Cougars, North Wales Crusaders, Rochdale Hornets, Swinton Lions and Barrow Raiders.

Coventry's inclusion for the first time produces a 14-club division, comprising six from the sport's heartlands and eight from development areas further afield.

Said Naylor: "This division will be the most competitive and demanding Oldham has had to face for a long time. We need to recruit, spend some money and get the best squad we can possibly assemble because next year will be twice as hard as this one, and in this one we failed."

He said it was ridiculous that Roughyeds should lose six grand finals in eight years: "There's something wrong somewhere and we need to find a way of changing it. That apart, we're grown men and we've just got to get on with it.”