ON the face of it, Paul Crarey might seem like one of the more unlikely people to be heaping praise on Toulouse Olympique.

The French outfit has proven a level above the rest of Kingstone Press League One on their return to the English domestic set-up – thanks in no small part to their full-time status.

Conversely, Barrow Raiders head coach Crarey – along with the rest of his counterparts – has to extract the maximum he can out of part-time players on a limited budget.

But despite the obvious gulf in funding between the two clubs, Crarey is impressed by what he has seen from Toulouse this season.

He believes opposite number Sylvain Houles, who has been nominated for the League One coach of the year award along with Crarey, deserves much credit for building a team which has managed to go through the season unbeaten so far.

And while Crarey expects Toulouse to have an eye on the promotion decider next week – which could see Barrow back in France to face them again – he expects Houles to send his team out with the intention of maintaining their 100 per cent record in the league.

“They’ve got a lot riding financially on the step up to the Championship, so it’s whether they rest a few players or not,” said Crarey.

“I think they’ll go full out to do some damage on us.

“They’re a very good quality side and everyone has knocked them, but I’ve got to admire their squad and the way they play.

“You can spend all the money you want, but if people don’t buy into what you do it can be a disaster. The coach has done a great job with them, they play some superb football, and everything is push and play.

“It’s refreshing to watch and they can hurt you from anywhere, which is the sign of a good side, but we’re ready for that.”

Today’s encounter at Stade Ernest-Argeles might be a clash between the financial haves and have-nots, but the difference in the teams on the field is not so pronounced.

Barrow go into this match on the back of a nine-game winning run which has them sitting second at present and puts them in with a glorious opportunity of clinching promotion back to the Championship.

Crarey is eager to finish the job, particularly as he anticipates League One will be even tougher to get out of next year when another big-spending full-time team in the form of Canadian side Toronto Wolfpack join the competition.

“In the past, there were two or three teams competing at the top, but this league is going to get more difficult,” said Crarey.

“Workington have gone down so they’re going to be in the mix next year, Toronto are in the division with a massive budget, so it gets tougher and tougher, and we’ll try to get out of it.

“It will settle down eventually with the money and things going on in rugby league, but we’ve put ourselves in a good position with a lot of young lads, some good local kids and some good senior professionals.

“If we make it, we make it and if we don’t, we’ve had a fantastic year and everyone has enjoyed it, from staff to fans. It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster, but we’re moving massively in the right direction.”

The result of tonight’s game will give Barrow some idea of whether or not they will have to travel to Toulouse again next Saturday in a showdown for one of the two promotion spots available, which would leave them just three days to prepare on home soil before flying back out to France.

Much will also depend on how Rochdale Hornets – third on points difference – fare against Hunslet Hawks tomorrow.

“It’s just worked out that we play Toulouse last and then the play-off game is there,” said Crarey.

“It’s worked out horrifically wrong for everyone and probably nobody expected us to go in this winning run and make it to the position we are in.

“But Hunslet might not beat Rochdale and we might not beat Toulouse, but we’re going to have a good go at it for the fans and the board, and just takes each game as it comes.

“That’s what we’ve talked about and if we have to go back again there are fresh bodies. But with the short turnaround we’d have to pick up a side early if we go back to Toulouse.

“We’ve made a big call to leave those players at home, but we’re going with as strong a squad as we have got.”