ANDY Litherland expects Barrow Raiders to get a good idea of how they are progressing in the build-up to the new season when they welcome Kingstone Press Championship side Oldham to Craven Park for a friendly.

The Raiders got their first hit-out just before Christmas with a 92-4 win over the Barrow and District Select side, but the match a week tomorrow will be the first of four pre-season outings against professional opposition.

And Oldham, who kick off the 2017 Championship season at home to Sheffield Eagles in just under one month's time, are aiming to build on a year which saw them retain their status in the second tier after being promoted as League One champions in 2015.

“It will give us a very good understanding as to where we are,” said Litherland. “It's only a friendly and we'll probably use 20 or 25 players, so it's hard to grasp totally, but it does give you a good idea of where you're at, where we're going wrong and where we need to improve.

“It will be physical - they are known for being a tough, physical team - but as long as we get through pre-season with no major injuries, we can only take the positives from the friendlies and it sets us up for the League One Cup.”

Barrow's opponents in the third tier's knock-out competition are Rochdale Mayfield of the National Conference League Premier Division, who qualified after winning the 2016 Conference Challenge Trophy.

Having lost to Rochdale Hornets at the same stage last year, the Raiders go into this match against the town's amateur side – to be played over the weekend of February 18 and 19 – as favourites to progress to the quarter-finals.

But Litherland is all too aware the defeats suffered by fellow League One teams Newcastle Thunder, London Skolars, Hemel Stags and South Wales at the hands of Siddal, Pilkington Recs, Kells and Featherstone Lions respectively in the Challenge Cup last year and is guarding against any complacency.

“They can be tricky games,” said Litherland. “They've earned their spot there and it's not going to be a walk in the park, and if you go down there and underestimate them, you've seen before how teams can go down there and come unstuck.

“You saw it last season in the Challenge Cup where three or four teams in our division got beaten by amateur sides.

“I know a lot of the southern sides are development sides, but even in Cumbria you've got a good few top, top sides and then branching out into the Wigan and Rochdale areas, you've got a lot of good amateur sides who are more than capable of stepping up a league.”

Of course, the Raiders are more than aware of the talent in the amateur game, with Litherland being one of those head coach Paul Crarey has recruited from the sides in the area.

Former Walney Central team-mates Danny Morrow and Matty Holmes are among those to have joined him at the club as well, while Millom prop Ethan Kelly is the latest player trying to earn a professional deal after impressing against Scotland in Liam Harrison's testimonial.

“It's nice to see,” said Litherland. “I didn't think I'd play as much as I did the first season I was there, which was pleasing. Then my mates like Danny Morrow and Matty Holmes both came from Walney last season, and both made an impact.

“Then you've got young Ethan Kelly who played in Liam's testimonial and made a name for himself, and now he's training for a contract, so fair play to the lad. He goes well in training and there's nothing he's not capable of, so good on him.”

Not only do the team have a strong backbone of home-sourced talent, but there is much more continuity in the Raiders squad in terms of those players who are staying on, with former St Helens half-back Lewis Charnock, and ex-Workington Town foursome Brett Carter, Jarrad Stack, Declan Hulme and Tom Walker the only new additions.

Litherland is impressed with not only how quickly the new signings have slotted into their new surroundings, but also how they have come to terms with how Crarey likes to set his team up to approach games.

“Paul has got quite an integrated game-plan,” said Litherland. “At first, it's quite hard to take in, but when you've got 90 per cent of the team who know it then it's easier for one or two guys to step in rather than where half the team don't know it and half the team do.

“We lost some good players last year - the big man Liam retired, everyone knows what Chris Hankinson can do and Batey (Anthony Bate) - but Paul has brought in some guys who are more than capable of stepping up and are equally good, if not better, players.

“They're up there, so what we've lost we've gained and those guys are buying straight into the game-plan.”