Oldham v Batley preview: James Ford echoes calls for lasting legacy tribute to John Kear at Mount Pleasant as Bulldogs look for fifth straight win
Two of the Championship’s in-form sides clash this weekend when Batley Bulldogs travel over the Pennines to face Oldham Roughyeds.
The Bulldogs are in a rich vein of form having won their previous four league matches against Keighley Cougars, North Wales Crusaders, Goole Vikings and Halifax Panthers, and James Ford’s men will be looking for a fifth straight league victory at Bower Fold this Sunday, June 21 (kick off 2pm).
Oldham, meanwhile, are experiencing their own terrific purple patch thanks to a stunning ten-game winning streak, stretching all the way back to February.
For Ford, it’s all about the “rebuild” of the Mount Pleasant club, who have moved up to seventh in the Championship table.
He told the Reporter Series: “It’s four on the bounce and five wins out of six, but it’s a rebuild, and rebuilds don’t take three weeks or a pre-season, they can take two or three years. I think we are making progress but there is still a long way to go and I am at a club that understands that.
“League tables don’t mean anything until the end of the season, so we will have this conversation at the end of the season.”
On Oldham’s current form, Ford said: “They are a good team who have invested significantly in their playing squad. They have had a few issues off the field, I don’t know the details so I don’t want to comment.
“But I do know that they are a very good team. We will have to build on the Halifax win again to go there and get the points.”
Batley’s game with Fax last Sunday saw a tribute to former boss John Kear, with the words ‘Only one John Kear’ painted on the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium pitch.
“It was brilliant,” Ford admired. “I came out and I started reading it and I wasn’t sure what it said. I got to ‘John’ and then I thought, ‘this is ace.’ The bloke is a legend. I got to know him pretty well over the last year or two.
“I wish I had got to know him like that a long time ago - his advice, the little chats here and there were valuable. I am sure he has been like that for many coaches.
“He will be remembered for a long time at this club and in rugby league.”
Asked if he thought a more permanent tribute to John could be put in place at the club, Ford replied:
“Why not? It definitely isn’t for me to make those decisions but I would love to see a ‘John Kear Stand’ here or something like that in memory of him, so that every time we come here there is something to remember him by.”