A former Super League centre has become the second coach to leave a Championship club in the space of a week.
Just a week after head coach Sean Long departed Oldham, his assistant Joe Wardle has also left with the club releasing a brief statement to confirm the former Super League centre’s departure.
In just a 60-word statement, Oldham confirmed Wardle’s exit and paid tribute to his impact as a player and thanked him for efforts, before farewelling him.
That was in a similar vein to the statement confirming Sean Long’s exit which was further explained by the club’s chairman and director of rugby, Bill Quinn and Mike Ford, with Quinn explaining that the club didn’t wish to stand still.
They also confirmed that Ford was moving to the director of rugby role, something Long “didn’t see as his vision going forward”. Both men were keen to praise Long, who oversaw the club’s promotion from League One and last year’s fourth-placed finish in the Championship.
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Super League hopefuls Oldham make coaching change
Whilst a new head coach has not been confirmed, a new assistant to replace the departing Wardle has been confirmed with Callum Irving appointed to the vacant role.
He steps up from the role of Pathways Technical Advisor and brings great experience of rugby league but also high performance sports, having played for Carlisle and York before then working at London Skolars. He currently works with FIFA’s Coaching Education Programme.
On his new role, Irving said: “What we had always talked about is joining the pathway up with the first team and now there is a really good opportunity to make sure there is a flow through right from the first team to the under 12s.
“One of the things Mike and the board have talked about is having Oldham lads playing for the first team and this role and joining those two elements of the club up is a logical step.
“My remit will be to work with the first team. I’m used to working with big characters and it is a pleasure to be around them. I am learning all the time and that is what I want to do here. I’m dead excited.”
Director of rugby Mike Ford added: “I have known Callum a long time, we played against each other and he has travelled the country coaching. He found his way back up to Saddleworth and Oldham, we reacquainted and I quickly got him involved with our pathway. It soon became apparent to me what a smart coaching brain he has got, not only in development of kids but all the way up to the very top.
“He is a rugby man, that is his lifeblood and what he wants to do is coach. We are very lucky to have a coach in our organisation who potentially has a different perspective of how the game should be played.”
He also gave an update on the club’s hunt for a head coach, noting: “We continue to search for a successor to Sean (Long). I am meeting people and we will find the right man, however long that takes.”
We’re delighted to announce that Callum Irving has been appointed to the role of assistant first team coach.
— Oldham RLFC (@Roughyeds) November 19, 2025
