An upbeat Naylor salutes his squad

HAPPY MAN: Scott Naylor

SCOTT Naylor saluted his Oldham players for their "grit and determination" in following up their 22-22 draw at Batley with their first win against arch rivals Rochdale in five derby clashes this season.

Roughyeds won 30-24 at the Crown Oil Arena after defending magnificently during a crucial spell in the second half when they led only 18-14 and Hornets were able to set up base camp in the Oldham 20 on the back of seven back-to-back sets.

"Courage and desire kept our line intact during that onslaught and it was great to see," said an upbeat Naylor.

"Six or seven weeks ago we wouldn't have done it, "he added. "But there's been a change of attitude and a helluva lot more desire in the lads. That's down to the conditioner and to the training we do.

"We've shown we can match anyone over 80 minutes and that's good, given that there's every likelihood our last three games will all go the distance.

"A win has been a long-time coming, but it was fully deserved. The performance was good and solid and, to be honest, I thought there was something dubious about each of their last two tries.

"We led from beginning to end, but we had to do it tough, especially when we had so much defending to do in the second half.

"We showed the same sort of grit and determination that we produced against Batley and Bradford and when you've got that, allied to a bit of class from Luke Hooley and Dave Hewitt and the variation of our three hookers you can open up teams and put them under pressure.

"We haven't done that enough this season, but we are doing it now and starting to get some reward.

"We've picked up three league points from the last four on offer in two away games and I believe it's the first time we've earned at least one point in consecutive games all season.

"It's the perfect time to do it --- and that's one of only several positives at the club right now. We've got players to come back and things are looking good.

"A couple of weeks ago our task to stay in this division looked a daunting one, but now we're looking forward to it.

"Our win and Swinton's win at Dewsbury has dragged Rochdale into the relegation battle. It's between the three of us now and we're fired up and ready for the challenge."