Oldham’s Super League ambitions made clear following first win as new coach lauds club

Oldham’s Super League ambitions have been re-iterated, with new coach Alan Kilshaw insisting the club has everything it needs in place to return to the top-flight.

The Roughyeds featured in Super League‘s first two seasons, 1996 and 1997, but have not been seen in the top tier of British rugby league since then.

Last year, they were among nine clubs who submitted a bid to be considered for promotion into a newly-expanded 14-team Super League for 2026.

Toulouse Olympique and York got the nod ahead of them, but that hasn’t deterred Oldham, whose work behind the scenes has continued as they try to become a Super League club in waiting.

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Oldham’s Super League ambitions made clear following first win as new coach lauds club

Former head coach Sean Long departed at the end of 2025 and is yet to be officially replaced, but Director of Rugby Mike Ford and Kilshaw, who was brought in from fellow Championship outfit Keighley Cougars around a month ago, are currently leading the team in a joint-effort.

Their 2026 campaign began with a comfortable 44-0 victory away against new phoenix club Salford RLFC on Friday night, and speaking to the media post-match at the CorpArq Stadium, Kilshaw had nothing but praise for his new employers.

He said: “Everything’s in place (for Super League).

“The IMG score was good, the bond (to get into Super League) was there and we own our own training ground.

“Bill (Quinn, owner) has invested a lot into the club, and we’re building towards that (Super League ambition).

“It would be good to have Oldham in Super League with where the location is as well, but that’s not for us to decide, we’ve just got to do as good a job as we can.

“If we perform on the field, everything is in place off the field, but there’ll be a few others (who fancy their chances).

“There’s London, Doncaster have recruited really well, Widnes will have a crack and then you’ve got some other teams below there that mean the Championship is going to be tough this year.

“It’s a nine-month competition, so it’s going to be a real war of attrition.”

Having left his position as Keighley’s head coach to join Oldham, and has officially been brought in an assistant. Explaining that decision, he said: “Seeing the players and the quality, it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

“We talk about Super League and us being full-time, and hopefully that’s the progression. That’s what I’ve been working towards since my first head coach job when I was 30.

“It (coaching in Super League) is something I’d love to achieve with Oldham.”