Naylor facing welcome choices

SHOW me you have pride in the jersey is Scott Naylor's challenge to the 17 players who will lift the curtain on Oldham's 2014 campaign in South Wales this weekend.

Eager to make his second season at Whitebank a memorable one, Naylor has raised the bar in his high expectations of the men under his command.

The coach claims to have more strength in depth, greater quality and several players who will benefit significantly from having already had a successful season together.

Assessing the overall situation at the club as his squad waits for starter's orders, the Oldham boss said: "I've got five props (six with the injured Phil Joy), three half-backs, three hookers and two full-backs. There's competition for places right across the board, and that's how it should be.

"I've got some tough decisions to make, and I love that; it's what the job is all about.”

Naylor's men lost two of their first three league games last season and that start cost them promotion.

"This time," he added, "we've got to start as we mean to go on.

"Scorpions have undergone a lot of change since we were last there, on and off the field, and they are an unknown quantity. All we can do is to go there with the right attitude, put in a 100 per cent team effort and stick rigidly to the things we do best."