Naylor is set for battle stations

Scott Naylor

SCOTT Naylor has warned that Oldham will have a massive battle on their hands when relegation rivals Whitehaven come to Bower Fold on Sunday.

The Cumbrians kept their Championship hopes alive with a shock 56-12 win at Dewsbury and in doing so dragged Roughyeds back into the relegation scramble.

Naylor's men are still three points ahead of them but if Whitehaven win at Bower Fold it will go down to the last day when Oldham go to Dewsbury and 'Haven are at home to Swinton.

Said the Oldham boss: "Whitehaven are showing what they're made of. They're working for each other, scoring points and defending well.

"They've been hanging in, but they're only three points behind us now and they'll be fancying their chances in games against us and Swinton.

"We're locked in a real relegation battle now and thinking about a game that we shouldn't even be talking about."

Chairman Chris Hamilton added: "We've got to buckle down, man up and make sure we're ready for it. We showed glimpses at Halifax, but glimpses aren't enough.

"We had fantastic support in both numbers and noise and for obvious reasons we're hoping to attract the backing of all our fans on Sunday."

To add to Oldham's concerns, Richard Lepori faces possible suspension by the RFL disciplinary system when his case for being sent off against Sheffield goes before them tomorrow night.

And two key forwards were injured at Halifax - Liam Thompson (shoulder) and Danny Langtree (leg). Both will be assessed at training by the club's medical team tomorrow night.