Naylor: Cup run vital for club coffers

Scott Naylor has outlined the importance of a decent cup run for a club like Oldham.

While acknowledging that progress in the KP Championship is the Roughyeds’ priority, he said there was money to be made in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup and that was a major incentive.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s fourth-round clash with amateurs Haydock at Bower Fold (kick-off 1pm, streamed live by BBC Sport), the Oldham boss said: “The big thing about the cup for us is the opportunity to help the club financially.

“We’d had some lean times, then last year we had our share of gates in ties against Hull KR and Warrington Wolves and from the financial point of view it was a lot better.

“A club like ours has to explore every avenue for bringing in revenue. We need more money, and that’s stating the obvious.”

He said Haydock will come with a similar mindset to the one that proved successful for Oldham at Hull KR in the fifth round last year.

“It’s a role reversal and our challenge is to make sure we don’t fall into the trap that caused Hull KR to come unstuck,” he added.

“We’ve been talking about it all week. But the lads aren’t daft. They know Haydock will give it everything they’ve got, and more, but they also know that if we match their enthusiasm and desire, our levels will see us through.

“We’ve two options. We can turn up, show Haydock every respect, play with the energy levels we had at Rochdale last week and go through.

“Or we can be disrespectful, have the wrong attitude and chance being made to look silly.”

Full-back Scott Turner, who picked up a knee injury in the 26-all draw at Rochdale, will not be risked.

Richard Lepori will be a shoe-in to switch from wing to full-back, with Jamel Chisholm in line to get his chance again on the left wing.

Sammy Gee and Liam Thompson are said to be available for selection after recovering respectively from ankle and thigh-muscle injuries.