Proud Naylor hails Oldham’s resolve

WITH five wins in a row — three of them against teams from League One’s ‘northern powerhouse’ — Oldham are growing in confidence with every passing game.

The 32-26 win at Swinton Lions and Whitebank victories of 34-12 and 38-18 respectively against York City Knights and Rochdale Hornets have rocketed Roughyeds into a position where they are being considered as serious promotion contenders.

Rochdale boss Ian Talbot said before this latest derby clash that his biggest let-down of the season so far was to lose at home to his club’s neighbours from the other side of the M62.

Now that Oldham have completed home-and-away victories over the old enemy, Talbot’s woes can only get worse.

His Roughyeds counterpart Scott Naylor, meanwhile, is keeping his feet fixed on terra firma and is not looking beyond the next game.

Said Naylor: “Our performance was very similar to that against York and I’m really pleased with how we played. We are finishing games very well indeed. We are dominating in the last 20 minutes and that’s a nice thing to have in the locker.

“The game was neck and neck for long spells. It was a typical derby and excellent viewing for the fans.

“We are immensely proud of beating Rochdale home and away because its such a huge thing, and it means such a lot, to our fans, our chairman, sponsors and to everyone associated with the club.

“We’re playing a good brand of rugby, working hard and doing all the right things.

“The challenge for us now is to keep things going in the right direction, to keep playing well and to be in a position in which we can keep ticking off games one by one and seeing where we finish up at the end of the regular season.

“In the context of league positions, this was a big win because it puts us four points up on Rochdale and keeps us snapping at the heels of Keighley Cougars with the play-offs getting ever nearer.”