SCOTT Naylor hopes Oldham can take out their promotion frustrations on his old club in the Bulls’ final away game of the season.

The Roughyeds were relegated along with Bradford last year but their hopes of an instant return to the Championship are hanging in the balance.

Oldham are currently fifth after last week’s 10-6 loss at leaders York – the latest in a catalogue of close-run defeats.

Naylor, now in his sixth year at the helm, admitted it has been a frustrating campaign.

He said: “We’ve had a lot of near misses and lost a number of games by less than six points.

“It’s our offence and inability to put pressure on teams that have cost us.

“They are brilliant bunch of lads and all the things the coach wants from his team, the attitude and the heart, is there in abundance.

“It’s just the ability to keep the ball in pressure situations and put points on the board. We’ve been trying to sort it out for weeks.

“We know what Bradford are all about. They are obviously well coached and have got quality players.

“But it’s probably the game you want after you’ve played York.”

The Bulls will finish second unless York trip up in their final two games. As the table stands, they would be facing Oldham again in the play-offs if the proposed RFL revamp is not pushed through.

Naylor added: “Hopefully that will be the case and we’re in the play-offs. But we’ve only got ourselves to blame for the position we’re in, because we’ve had enough chances.

“Even at Odsal, after 70 minutes we scored to make it 18-18 but it got disallowed. Then Bradford went on to win the game – that could have been different.

“It’s difficult when you come down because players leave and you are almost starting again. There are not many teams who bounce straight back up.

“Bradford obviously financially have probably spent more money than all the rest of us. That’s probably one of the reasons why they are up there as well.

“But they’ve still got to win the games and they’ve done that consistently this year, apart from a couple of defeats.

“We’re under no illusions we’re up against a very strong team with a good pack and a coach who has been around a very long time. John (Kear) makes me feel young.

“He has coached at every level and is still obviously doing a great job. He’s very well liked in the game, a great bloke and I don’t know anybody who’s got a bad word to say about him.”

The home side will be looking to exploit the tight surroundings of the Vestacare Stadium – and Naylor predicts another close encounter on the cards.

“The environment is obviously very different to Odsal,” he said. “It’s a 4G pitch and the crowd are right on top of you.

“The (home) games that we have lost have only been by a couple of points. If Bradford are going to get us, I’d expect it will be the same because it’s going to be a tough day.”