Last updated at 13:05, Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Workington Town centre Jason Mossop penned a new two-year deal with the Derwent Park outfit last night, then warned his team-mates: It’s going to be a different life in the Championship.

Jason Mossop

Mossop, 26, who has been one of the big defenders in Championship One this summer, said the decision to sign a new contract was an easy one.

“I just love my rugby at Workington and I have a lot of mates there,” he said.

And his warning comes from experience – Mossop played 15 games for Sheffield in the Championship while studying at the city’s university, but returned to Town on loan after receiving his double degree in June 2010.

“Mark Aston [Sheffield boss] didn’t want me to go out to another Championship club so coming to Town was the easy option,” said Mossop who teaches Maths and IT at Stainburn School in Workington. “I’d completed my university course and wanted to come home. I signed a two-year deal with Town at the end of the 2010 season and have just signed another two-year contract.

“Next season in the Championship is going to be a big one for the club, and our main aim is to survive and stay up. A lot of the lads will be new to this level . The likes of Brett Carter and Elliott Miller have just re-signed and are looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“And Graeme Mattinson has already had a lot of experience up there with Whitehaven. Add to that Jamie Thackray, Peter Lupton and Mark Calderwood who are used to the full-time environment and have vast Super League experience that will rub off on the younger players.

“Take the likes of Championship winners this year Sheffield, Halifax, Leigh and Featherstone. I think they will be in the top four and I think that we will be looking at topping the next group, mid-table security.

“It’s going to be a big challenge but I feel that we are building a squad capable of coping with it.”

Town suffered towards the end of the 2012 campaign through injuries and Mossop feels that it was just a matter of numbers that saw Town eventually fade away.

“Our main aim was promotion and we achieved that. It was disappointing to finish without a trophy but it was one game too much,” he added.

“We had a good run throughout the season but all out injuries came at once and near the end. The numbers game caught up with us and we have to be prepared for that in the Championsip.”

Coach Gary Charlton was delighted to re-sign Mossop, who has also played for the Welsh University said, and said: “Jason doesn’t miss many tackles. “We are delighted that he has signed again as he is a big part of what we do.

“He defends very well especially when he’s out wide and that’s not an easy thing to do. Jason also has decent go forward, scores tries, and is a lot faster than people realise he is.”

First published at 12:07, Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk