FORMER Featherstone Rovers boss Sean Long has revealed he rejected Super League head coach and assistant coaching jobs to take up the number one role at Oldham.
It was considered quite the coup for the League One club when they lured Long back to Lancashire after less than a year at the helm at Featherstone.
However, it can be described as an even bigger one with the revelation that the ex-Leeds Rhinos assistant turned down top flight clubs.
Now Long has revealed why.
“Oldham’s vision on how they will go forward really stood out to me,” Long told League Express.
“I have never coached in League One before but my ambition is to always be a head coach. Then when I spoke with Mike Ford (managing director) and Bill Quinn (the chairman), the actual progression of where they want to be in three years time really appealed to me as well as being head coach.
“There were offers, I don’t want to name the clubs, I had a Super League offer as a head coach and assistant coach but I just felt like I want a challenge and that’s why I went to Harlequins in rugby union before. I just like challenging myself and that’s what I see Oldham as.”
Does Long feel any pressure from the raft of new Super League and Championship-quality signings that will line up for Oldham in League One in 2024?
“I don’t feel any pressure, I actually like it. We’ve got a good squad but ultimately we have got to come together as a team and that’s my job to get us all buying into the right attacking systems etc,” Long continued.
“They have bedded in really well, I’ve been really impressed with them. We have changed the calls, how we defend and how we attack. I’m really pleased.
“It’s going really good, we’ve got a brand new set of lads. They’ve come from different systems and different clubs and we are now in week four of our pre-season now. We are probably ahead of where I thought we would be.”
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