O’Connor no axe to grind

PAUL O’CONNOR: Faces his former club.

PAUL O’CONNOR turns out against his home-town side for the first time tonight, but harbours no hard feelings about a club still close to his heart.

The Widnes-based full-back (24) spent a month on loan with Oldham during the fateful 2006 season, after struggling to nail down a regular place in the Vikings line-up.

Though he returned to Widnes following the expiration of that short-term deal, O’Connor was soon on his way back to Oldham the following season and went on to enjoy his best campaign yet in professional rugby in 2008, picking up a number of player-of-the-year awards.

Now, he is aiming to pick up where he left off last season against the Northern Rail Cup favourites (7.30pm kick off at the Stobart Stadium), a short distance down the road from where he lives.

“With Widnes being my home-town club I would have liked to have been successful there,” admitted O’Connor, who only missed out on taking on Widnes during his initial Oldham stint due to a clause in the loan contract.

“But I am not bitter about leaving. I am just glad that I was able to play regular first team rugby again at Oldham and in my favourite position at full-back as well, rather than on the wing where I was playing a lot at Widnes.

“Even if this game didn’t happen to be against Widnes, with it being the first competitive match of the season I’d be hoping to start the season as strongly as possible anyway.

“They are a strong side and are one of the favourites for the Co-operative Championship. If we put in a good performance, though, then hopefully we can turn them over.”

Within a strong squad assembled by coach Tony Benson, O’Connor admits the competition he faces for the full-back spot — Marcus St Hilaire, Paul Reilly and Anthony Bingham can all operate there — will help keep him focused.

“Everyone who is playing in the side has got two, three or four players vying for their position and nobody can afford to rest on their laurels,” O’Connor added.

“We have plenty of experienced lads in the squad and also the younger lads can come in and do a good job as well, as they have already shown.”

On the Northern Rail Cup as a competition, O’Connor feels that a revised format that now features just four group matches and no last-16 knockout stage — a total reduction of three games compared to last year — should aid the team’s cause when also fighting for league honours.

“By the time we played against Batley (in the quarter-finals) last year we were struggling with injuries. Even then, we could have won the game late on, but on a different day I think we would have got the result.

“We will just take each game as it comes and go from there.”

The Vikings, who lost their last pre-season friendly 54-6 against a strong St Helens side, have recruited well since the end of a 2008 campaign ruined by a nine-point deduction imposed for breaking financial rules.

The most notable new face on board is former Hull KR man James Webster, who will pull the strings at scrum-half.

Fellow recruits Toa Kohe-Love (from Leigh), Richard Varkulis (Halifax) and former Oldham man Lee Doran (Leigh) are all hardened operators at this level.

The main downside as far as coach Steve McCormack’s preparations go has been a broken ankle sustained by Stephen Bannister, who arrived from Salford.