Rugby out of BP

OLDHAM Rugby League Club will be sensationally booted out of Boundary Park after Sunday's big game against Leigh. With two of the biggest home games of the season still to come — against Widnes and Featherstone — the Roughyeds have been told by Oldham Athletic that work on its problem pitch will start on Monday. The rugby club, enjoying its best season since it was formed in 1997, could also qualify for at least one home game in the potentially lucrative top-eight play-off series. Talks between the clubs have been going on for some time, but a devastated Christopher Hamilton, the rugby club chairman, has now accepted the inevitable. He said the decision would be a financial disaster which would probably cost the club between £30,000 and £40,000. Mr Hamilton slammed the football club's lack of flexibility and criticised Oldham Council for not doing more to assist the rugby club.

Club officials are now searching desperately for another ground. Mr Hamilton added: "We have been slapped in the face just when we were starting to make an impact. We have come a long way in less than three years. "Athletic knew at the start of the season what our fixture schedule was. And if the football club make a commitment it should stick to it — not abandon it when it doesn't suit. "As for the council, it has done nothing for the new club apart from sponsoring one match per season to the tune of £1,200. "But it has sold rugby down the river on the stadium issue and it has done nothing to safeguard the interests of the club in the lease agreement it now has with Athletic on Boundary Park. "I think we have merely been a convenience for the council in terms of public relations with regard to Sports Park 2000."

But Athletic chief executive, Mr Alan Hardy, said consultants had told the club that if the pitch is to be ready for the start of the new football season, work must begin by early June. He added: "We were becoming increasingly concerned about the playing surface towards the end of last season and ideally we would have liked to have started major renovation works, costing about £30,000, at the end of the season. "But we had made a commitment to help the rugby club return to the town, and we stood by that. "After the wettest April any of us can recall, and the wettest May since 1983, the pitch surface deteriorated considerably and we were forced to call in the consultants on May 24. "Their advice is quite clear — to have any chance of restoring the pitch in time for next season, we must act now." Mr Hardy said: "We immediately informed the rugby club and initially it was very understanding, though obviously a little upset. The council's Director of Economic Development, Mr Keith Coates, said the council did support the Roughyeds by giving the club rent-free offices. 

OLDHAM are looking at the facilities of non-league soccer clubs Mossley, Ashton United and Curzon Ashton as they search for a new home following the Boundary Park bombshell. Hyde United and Stalybridge Celtic cannot be ruled out, either. The Spotland ground at Rochdale, where the Roughyeds have played extensively in the past, has not been considered at this stage because work on the building of a new stand is expected to start as soon as Rochdale Hornets play their last league game. Oldham officials are trying to avoid a situation in which they play Widnes and Featherstone at one venue and then switch to yet another ground if they qualify for a home game in the play-off. Said Roughyeds chairman Christopher Hamilton: "If possible we want to find a ground where we can at least get some home advantage. We don't want to be playing all over the place."

Gigg Lane at Bury, where Swinton are experiencing similar problems, will not be an option. Mr Hamilton has had talks with Mossley chairman Sam Rigby and said: "He didn't seem over-keen. And, to be honest, there isn't a lot of seating at Seel Park. "We are also looking at Ashton United and Curzon Ashton in our bid to find a ground which offers our fans the least possible inconvenience. "Our options will be limited because soccer clubs are out of season and possibly working on pitches. "The venue we come up with must also comply with the requirements of the RFL minimum standards committee." Oldham need to find a home for NFP matches against Widnes on Sunday, June 18 and Featherstone on Sunday, July 2. If they finish in the top six they will also get at least one home game in the play-offs. Added Mr Hamilton: "Widnes and Featherstone are two of our biggest games of the season.

We were fully booked in the Boundary Park sponsors suites and that is a vital source of income. "The only other income we receive on match days is from the gate and the car park: all other receipts, from refreshment bars etc., go to Athletic." Player-coach Mike Ford, meanwhile, has promised that, win or lose, the Roughyeds will bid farewell to Boundary Park for this season with a good performance against Leigh on Sunday. "We want to sign off there on a high," he said, "and the players are determined to play well. "They want to turn this difficult situation to their advantage, hopefully with the backing of the biggest crowd of the season." Oldham `A' entertain Batley at Castleton Gabriels tomorrow, kick-off 2.30. 

ATHLETIC are set to earn double international honours tonight when Northern Ireland and Wales play an under-21 match in Dungannon. David Miskelly and Matthew Tipton will both feature — and could be in direct competition in front of goal. Miskelly (20) is Northern Ireland's first-choice 'keeper and won his third cap on Monday in a 1-1 draw with Scotland. If, as expected, he plays tonight, he will have started more games for his country than he has in the league for Athletic. Tipton (19) first played at this level as a 17-year-old, but — echoing his career at Boundary Park — he fell out of favour after three appearances. Although he is now on Athletic's transfer list, the striker was recently recalled to the Welsh squad and was named among the substitutes against Scotland on Wednesday.

The Wales starting line-up was being announced at lunchtime today and Tipton's rivals for a place up front were players from Tottenham, Norwich, QPR and Liverpool. He is likely to feature at some point of the match, giving him the chance to test Miskelly on a bigger stage than Athletic's training ground. The friendly ends a triangular tournament which Northern Ireland would win if they triumphed tonight by two clear goals. As Athletic return for pre-season training on July 5, it also means the two youngsters will have a much shorter break than most of their club-mates.

 Andy Ritchie ended last season in good favour at Oldham and few would bet against him receiving another contract at the end of next season. The Latics finished the highest they have been under his stewardship and he has now set a new goal - promotion. And the fans are right behind him. But it was all very different back in September when some of those same fans were calling for the manager's head. It was, perhaps, inevitable given the Latics worst ever start in their history - a run of five games without a single point. The Latics were rock-bottom and the third relegation in five years looked to be looming. Ritchie always insisted he was confident he would turn fortunes round and the board gave him their full backing. He took the fans flak and got on with the job.
He believed in his players and they believed in him, and slowly the team began to drag themselves up the table to eventually finish in a very creditable  fourteenth place. Ritchie said: "It was very frustrating but I never felt under any pressure. "In the end it turned out to be a very successful season and now we have laid the foundations we have got to go out and build on them next season." The Latics have, more often than not, put faith in their managers and only 14 have been in the hot seat since the Second World War. And their best success's came under long-term leadership with the likes of Jimmy Frizzell and Joe Royle, who took them to the Premiership.

 One man who will be monitoring the Richard Graham situation at Boundary Park will be former boss Joe Royle. The big defender is unhappy with the new, one-year deal he has been offered because of an injury jinx that has hit him hard over the last two seasons. Graham, who is 25, has played just 30 games during that time but Royle knows all about his capabilities. And, backed with financial clout, he could be tempted to take a chance. It wouldn't be the first time - he did it with Richard Jobson, whose career looked to be on the line with injury - and it turned out to be an inspired move. Royle also knows that a fully fit Graham- he was once tipped as a future England player - would give him quality cover both in defence and midfield.