Clay backs Oldham to rise to the challenge

Date published: 25 November 2014


ADAM Clay says the new Kingstone Press League One season will bring out the best in the new Oldham squad.

He has labelled the new, three-year deal for coach Scott Naylor as a "massive positive" for both club and players.

Clay (24), Barrow's top try scorer with 12 in 27 outings for the Championship club in 2013, has signed a new one-year contract at Oldham. Looking ahead to his first full season at Whitebank, Clay said the restructured League One, with 14 teams, will make the sports's third tier “bigger, better, more challenging and hugely competitive from top to bottom.

"As a player, that's what you want," he added. "It's going to be a cracking division, not only because five strong teams are coming down from the Championship, but because the others are getting better with each season.”

Clay didn't miss a game after making his debut, and scored four tries in nine games despite a ruptured ligament in his right ankle. He might need minor keyhole surgery if he is to be 100 per cent fit for the new season.

“It’s nothing serious,” he said. “Perhaps it will take a couple of weeks out of my pre-season, but I just want to get fully fit so that I can show everyone my true self.

Naylor can’t wait to see Clay working on full throttle: “He and I go back a long time. We knew about the ankle when we signed him, and that he could play on it, albeit it at 70 per cent. I’m looking forward to seeing him go flat out.”