Dewsbury Rams' chairman feeling 'positive' about the club's prospects in League 1 next season

Liam Finn’s men suffered the heartache of relegation to League 1 in 2022 but Sawyer believes the club has recruited well ahead of the new campaign.

The chairman said: “It was a very difficult season last season, so now it is time to deliver a better performance on the pitch which the fans fully deserve.

“We have done well in terms of recruitment and the calibre of player, especially having been relegated. I think we have got a decent standard of new recruits in and we have got to be relatively positive about our prospects next season.

“We have definitely made our intentions clear to try and get back up to the Championship at the first time of asking but we are certainly showing respect to the other teams in the division. There are about three or four teams who have recruited strongly as well.”

But while the Rams were languishing in the danger zone throughout the previous season, local rivals Batley Bulldogs enjoyed an enthralling journey to the Championship Grand Final and were 80 minutes away from a place at rugby league’s top table.

And Sawyer, chairman for over 20 years, admits he will miss the Rams locking horns with Craig Lingard’s troops in 2023.

He said: “They are a great advert for the Championship and a great advert for what is possible. Anything is possible and Batley showed that. They have done particularly well.

“They were just one match away from getting into Super League and they are one of the smaller teams in the league like we were.

“It is sad that we won’t be in the Championship to play them but we are looking forward to the Boxing Day match at Batley and it will be good to see our players play against them.

“It’s certainly a loss to us all that we won’t be playing against them in the league.

"Both Dewsbury and Batley made it clear that we are in favour of promotion and relegation, so if you don’t win your matches, then you have to pay the penalty, which is what we did this year.”