Naylor excited by Oldham challenge

James Gordon

 

New Oldham coach Scott Naylor says he is excited by the challenge he faces at the Whitebank Stadium.

Naylor, 40, has signed a two-year deal to succeed Tony Benson, after the club failed to win one of the four promotion spots on offer in Championship 1 this season.

That means they face trips to the likes of Hemel, Oxford, Gloucester, London, Gateshead and Wales in 2013, and promotion is likely to be a target.

Naylor said: “It will be a big challenge at Oldham, but I don’t mind that. I’ve been out of the game for two years and my hunger to get back into it and do well will drive me on. I’m looking forward to it immensely.

“I had two lengthy meetings with Chris (Hamilton). No stone was left unturned. I’m under no illusions about the size of the task. I know exactly what the job entails.

“It would be nice to talk about promotion in the first season, but the reality is we have only one player signed on for 2013 at this stage so we have a lot of work to do in order to build up the squad. Things have got to be better than last season, though.

“The players will get 100 per cent from me and if I get 100 per cent from them we’ll see what happens. I’m looking forward to it, I can’t wait to get started.”

Naylor won two Super League winners medals during his playing career with Bradford, and he also played for Wigan and Salford, as well as earning four caps for England.