The chairman of Super League hopefuls Oldham has sent a rallying message to the fans whilst outlining the club’s clear intent going forward.

Bill Quinn has made it very clear that Oldham will apply to join Super League in 2026, arguing that whilst ‘nobody’ in the Championship is ‘ready’, the Roughyeds are “as ready as anyone else”.

“Our Super League journey starts now, to be honest with you. We will be putting a bid in for Super League, you can bet on that,” Quinn declared in a video on the club’s YouTube channel as he outlined their Super League ambitions, as well as what the club need from the fans to make that dream a reality.

He continued: “There’s lots of talks about it and isn’t it fantastic that Oldham, in just over two years, can be stood here now being talked about by various pundits at the RFL and that we’re actually at the table for Super League.”

Oldham were taken over in March 2023 by a group including former player Mike Ford as Quinn joined later in the role of chairman, bringing further ambition, funds and drive which has seen the Roughyeds on the verge of an incredible jump from League One to Super League in two years.

‘Have to put bums on seats’ – Oldham make plea for fans in bid for Super League

One of the key things that Oldham need if they’re to become a Super League outfit is a larger fanbase and Quinn has accepted that, calling on current fans to do more as he listed the number of avenues the club have exhausted.

He explained: “We’re going to do a survey. I want to know if the town of Oldham wants to support rugby. We’re putting on something here and we’re going to do our best to go into Super League.

“We’re not just going to knock on the door, we’re going to kick on the door and we’re going to do our best. Everything that they (Super League) want, we’re there with it but the bottom line is that we have to put bums on seats. We’ve got show the broadcaster and Super League exactly what Oldham is about.”

That survey will see if there is a real appetite for more fans to attend as he explained that the club have tried numerous efforts to increase attendances such as going into schools, giving away free tickets, and even placing their pathways coaches in and around local amateur teams.

Ultimately though, the fans need to turn out, as Quinn declared: “What I ask for is that everybody else who comes here needs to step up now. Everybody who is a true Roughyeds fan needs to start bringing people. We’ll do the survey and find out what kind of backing we’re getting and then see where we are.”

No Championship club ‘ready’ for Super League jump, admits Oldham chair

As for the club’s readiness to take the leap into the elite, Quinn accepts that no team can possibly be ready but that Oldham are as primed as they can be.

He admitted: “There’s nobody ready. There is nobody ready, I don’t care who you are. This has been brought on and there has been a meeting and it’s been decided that it will go to 14, but what we are is that we’re as ready as anybody else.

“We’ve got the finances, we’ve got the brains, we’ve got the know-how. Look at what we’ve done in just over two years and look at what we’ll do in the next six or twelve months.

“Player recruitment and finances, a few things at the stadium to make sure that we’re compliant, they can be done very quickly.”

Quinn would then end his video with somewhat of a mic drop as he called into shot the club’s latest recruits, Salford Red Devils’ pair Ryan Brierley and Jack Ormondroyd, as the Roughyeds chair stated: “If you want to know our intentions, this is our latest set of recruits and there will be more to come so this is our intention.”