Keighley Cougars make Super League ambition clear after celebrating League 1 promotion in style

Whereas merely existing and surviving while providing enough cheer to go around is the aim for many, the mantra at Keighley is: if you are not aiming for the top, what is the point?

After three long and painful decades, the club have got their mojo back thanks in no small part to the return of chairman and owner Mick O'Neill, architect of the original wave of 'Cougarmania'.

With the help of son Ryan and his husband Kaue Garcia - tasked with dragging Keighley into the modern era - O'Neill has revitalised the Cougars, a club on the brink of extinction in January 2019.

Fresh from wrapping up the League 1 title to end their eight-year wait for a return to the second tier, the Cougars were in the mood to party on Sunday afternoon.

The game against North Wales Crusaders - second in the table ahead of kick-off - could have been a mere sideshow but Keighley had a perfect record to protect.

After giving their hosts a guard of honour, the Crusaders threatened to dampen the mood inside Cougar Park when they scored the opening try inside three minutes.

But two former Super League stars Scott Murrell and Jake Webster soon set Keighley on their way to a 19th straight win after combining to put Charlie Graham over in the corner.

The Cougars took a 20-6 lead into the interval, which allowed enough time for the club to pit five unavailable players against one another in a zorb race.

With the beer flowing as fast as the traffic on Hard Ings Road, the home fans were treated to a points fest.

Keighley ran in nine tries in the 50-16 victory, the retiring Murrell providing the champagne moment with a sublime reverse kick for his side's final score.

All that was left to do was to collect the League 1 trophy and party the night away.

The speed of the turnaround has not surprised co-owner Ryan O'Neill.

"We were always very ambitious," he told The Yorkshire Post.

"I don't know if it was crazy thinking from us at the beginning because we thought we could do it straight away.

"We always had the belief that we could do it. My dad did it in 1990 with the whole Americanisation and entertainment side which changed rugby league.

"In terms of us as a family, we'd done it before. Obviously 30 years have passed and things have changed, which is why bringing someone like (head of rugby) Andrew Henderson in to manage the recruitment and management has helped.

"That can't be done on the back of a fag packet anymore which used to be the case.

"The ambition is there and we had a plan which is why we always had the belief.

"It's so easy to run this sport and a club like Keighley: you've got to give people entertainment, jeopardy and excitement."

As they prepare for life in the Championship, Keighley are conscious that change is coming.

With a proposal on the table to turn Super League into two divisions of 10, finishing in the top half is of paramount importance for ambitious clubs in the Championship.

After being left on the outside looking in following their exclusion from Super League in 1995, the Cougars are desperate to avoid another crushing blow.

Keighley will continue an eye-catching recruitment drive that has seen the club land Junior Sa'u and Eddy Pettybourne.

When asked about the possibility of more big-name arrivals over the off-season, O'Neill replied: "There certainly will.

"Andrew is doing a great job in putting the squad together. We realise we need to add some more names to get ourselves into that top half of the Championship.

"We're mindful that nothing is set in stone in terms of the competition which is frustrating. We're hoping that will be sorted out pretty quickly.

"If they do restructure, that's why we've got to be in the top half of the Championship to possibly get into that second Super League 10.

"There will be some names coming down the line and I think everybody will be pretty pleased and excited.

"It's going to be tough but we'll be a decent force to be reckoned with in the Championship."

While there is an acceptance that mixing it with the likes of Toulouse Olympique will be a different challenge altogether, Keighley will stop at nothing to reach the top.

"We missed out in 1995 so there's unfinished business for my dad in particular," added O'Neill.

"I don't see the point in running a sports club if you don't have the ambition to be the best; I'd rather not do it.

"If I was coming to a game and thought we were going to lose it, I'm doing it wrong.

"All the ambition and hard work we've put into this club is to get to the top.

"People might laugh at the thought of Keighley Cougars winning Super League but that's our ambition and intention, absolutely."