JAMES RATCLIFFE has every faith his current charges can turn York City Knights’ season around – starting with their most difficult challenge of the Championship One campaign so far.

The Knights go to joint-leaders Oldham tomorrow (3pm) on the back of four wins and four defeats, the latest of which was at home to Swinton last week after they threw away a 14-point lead – having only just held on for victory against Rochdale seven days earlier.

It left the club floundering in mid-table – and receiving a rollicking from Ratcliffe for a lack of desire and attitude. But the head coach has since told them his belief in their ability has not waned.

“Most definitely,” he said when asked if he still had confidence in his players to pick up form, even against an Oldham team with a 100 per cent record.

“I fully believe they can compete in the top two or three if they apply themselves properly and for the full 80 minutes.

“We’ve said for the last two weeks that we’ve put ourselves in a position to win games but we need to push on from that and turn the first 40 minutes into an 80-minute performance.

“If we do that, it will then be a confidence thing and we can push on from there.”

Ratcliffe is set to make changes to the 17 beaten by the Lions.

Press Player of the Month Dennis Tuffour is likely to be back on the wing having been a controversial omission last week, while hooker Paul Stamp also returns after a dead leg picked up in training kept him out of that 36-30 loss.

Matty Duckworth could get another chance to fill the problematic centre position having been included in the provisional 20-man squad, and second-row Chris Clough is also in the party, but Ratcliffe will only publicly name his 17 late on.

Player/assistant-coach Chris Thorman (quad) is still out while Alex Benson will need to rest for another fortnight after suffering a recurrence of his back problem in Thursday’s reserves loss to Sheffield, as reported on www.thepress.co.uk yesterday.

The match will be the first at Oldham’s new Whitebank home – the first time the Roughyeds will have played on their own ground in the borough since leaving Watersheddings in 1997.

The RFL have finally approved the ground after it was brought up to minimum standards. For directions and other information, see the Knights Diary on page 48.

Asked if the venue – new to the Roughyeds as well as York – could be a factor in the outcome, Ratcliffe said: “It’s a patch of grass like any other pitch – unless it’s 30 metres wider or has a massive slope. It’s how we perform on it that counts.”

Oldham have won all seven of their league games, most away from home, and are big favourites to continue that run.

But Ratcliffe said: “We will go expecting to win. We showed again (in the first half) last Sunday that we’re as good as anybody if we play how we want to play and show more desire defensively.

“Oldham have got threats all over the park so it will have to be a team effort, but we have threats as well.”

Roughyeds boss Tony Benson will choose from a 23-man squad, following late fitness checks on key half-back Neil Roden (foot), loose-forward Chris Clarke (gashed lip), forward Craig Robinson (elbow) and former Super League centre Marcus St Hilaire (back).

Those 23 are the 17 on duty in Monday’s 46-26 win at Doncaster, plus Scott Mansfield, Jamie I’Anson, Ian Hodson, Mark Brocklehurst, Kashley Watkins and St Hilaire.

Oldham: from Ashe, Boults, Brocklehurst, Chandler, Clarke, Ellison, Fogerty, Gillam, Heaton, Hodson, I’Anson, Kerr, Mansfield, O’Connor, Onyango, Reilly, Robinson, M Roden, N Roden, St Hilaire, Sutton, Watkins, Whitmore.

Knights: from Ratcliffe, Lineham, Tuffour, Wilson, Duckworth, Waterman, Bromilow, Stamp, McLocklan, Lee, Freer, Fallon, Waller, Stearman, Applegarth, Ross, Hardbottle, Lewis, Clough, Blakeway.

Referee: Peter Brooke (Hull).