Oliver Pursglove has revealed he turned down offers to stay in the Championship before committing himself to Cougars for next season.

The highly-regarded second-rower has attracted admiring glances from several clubs during his long association with his hometown team.

After Paul March’s side were relegated at the end of last season, the likes of Richie Barnett, Elliott Cosgrove, Sean Hesketh and James Craven jumped ship but the vast majority of the squad have stayed loyal.

Pursglove, who began his rugby league career with the Cougars Cubs side, has been a first-team regular for Keighley for the past seven seasons and was the club’s Player of the Year in 2013.

He said: “I had a couple of opportunities to stay in the Championship and it was something to think about because your career is not that long anyway.

“You want to test yourself at the best level possible for as long as you can but Keighley is my hometown club.

“I’ve been here from a young age and come through the academy system and amateur clubs here.

“With my work circumstances and being a local lad, staying at Keighley was a no-brainer really.”

Pursglove is entering the final phase of a five-year, part-time BSc Honours degree in architectural technology, which he combines with his job at Skipton Properties Limited.

He explained: “I’m in my final year of my degree now and there is a lot more work involved this year than last.

“Unfortunately I will have to miss one training session per week because of my course commitments, but come May next year I will have finished my course and should be able to commit fully to every training session.

“My job is going well too and I’ve been at Skipton Properties for about seven years now.

“We’re busy, we’ve got quite a few sites to deal with, and I’m enjoying doing my degree alongside my job.”

Cougars look well placed to challenge for promotion next season after their controversial demotion last term.

Pursglove added: “It’s encouraging because we’ve got a good core of players who were there last year.

“They have signed on again and I think we’re only missing a few players from last season.

“We know it’s going to be a tough league to get out next year but I think we’ve probably got the right guys for the job.

“I’m going into my eighth season and there are a few lads such as Buster and Danny Jones have been for a long time.

“Playing with the same guys year in and year out, you get to know their games and it definitely helps.”

Pursglove admitted Cougars have extra motivation to make an immediate return to the second tier after the controversy surrounding the dual-registration saga involving Batley and Doncaster.

He added: “It will fuel us because we definitely feel we’ve been wronged.

“It hasn’t been mentioned yet in pre-season training but I’m sure when the games start then it will be something that it talked about as motivation to help us get back up.”

Pursglove rejoined Cougars midway through last season when his academic year ended and he made his comeback in the Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat at Widnes in June.

He reflected: “I had quite a frustrating time last season when I came back because I didn’t feel like I cemented a place in the team.

“I obviously had to miss quite a lot of the season because of my degree and it’s hard to get consistency when you’re not playing week in and week out. But I’m looking for a big year next season.”

Cougars, meanwhile, are still waiting for Barrow to agree the rewording of the proposals for an EGM over the dual-registration ineligibility saga before it can take place.