COUGARS chairman Gary Fawcett believes the club have learned valuable lessons from their traumatic 2015 campaign and is confident they have the ability to go all the way into the Championship in 2016.

As he prepares to welcome in the New Year, Fawcett can reflect on a tumultuous past season which saw popular half-back Danny Jones suffer an untimely death in May before Cougars went on to be denied promotion in agonising fashion following defeat to Swinton at Widnes.

That followed the 2014 season which saw Paul March’s side controversially relegated from the Championship, but Fawcett has vowed the club will be back stronger than ever in 2016.

A raft of new signings have been made to strengthen the squad which has encouraged hopes that Keighley can return to the second tier in the coming season.

Aaron Ollett and Sonny Esslemont have been recruited from Hull KR and seasoned professionals such as Ritchie and Darren Hawkyard have also come on board.

Fawcett said: “Despite the desperately unlucky attempt to gain promotion at the end of last season, failing both at Oldham and against Swinton, everyone at the club is looking forward to the 2016 season.

“During the close season, we have strengthened significantly across all areas and attracted players from Super League clubs in the process.

“We believe this is the strongest squad we have assembled in recent times and, in order to avoid the extremely painful disappointment of last season, it has to be.

“Looking at the other clubs in our division it seems like they have all strengthened plus we have the two relegated teams of Hunslet and Doncaster to contend with.

“Despite the strong squad that we have assembled, next season will not be easy.

“However, we are confident that the lessons have been learned from last season and that we will achieve promotion.”

Cougars won many plaudits for the way the club pulled together following the loss of Jones, who died after collapsing during a Cougars match against London Skolars.

It was later discovered the 29-year-old had an undetected heart condition, but Cougars’ efforts in raising money for his widow Lizzie Jones and the couple’s twins – Bobby and Phoebe – have been formally recognised with the club picking up two awards in the Readers Poll of trade newspaper League Express.

The Cougars were named Club of the Year, while March was named Coach of the Year after taking Keighley to within one game of promotion despite all of the adversity.

Speaking to League Express, Fawcett said: “These awards were decided by the people that matter.”

“They watch Rugby League week in, week out and everyone at the club is flattered. I do think everyone at the club deserves the two awards.

“Not many coaches across the world have had to deal with what Marchy has and the club as a whole, right down to the cleaner and up to the chief executive have been very professional and acted with compassion following the disaster that happened to us in May.

“It’s a big thank you from us to the Rugby League fraternity and I think it is well deserved from everybody at the club.”

There was also an award handed out to Ritchie Hawkyward, who was voted as the League One Player of the Year after helping Swinton to promotion, ironically in a play-off final victory over Cougars.