FORMER Oldham Athletic boss Pete Wild has warned his old club that National League life will not be easy.

Wild’s FC Halifax Town battled against some big spending sides to reach the play-offs, only to be eliminated by Chesterfield last week, before the 38-year-old left The Shay to take charge of League Two Barrow.

Stockport County have been promoted back to the Football League as champions. But the fact it has taken 11 years to get back there is a stark reminder of the difficulties facing Latics in the National League.

Hollywood A-lister backed Wrexham, Notts County and Chesterfield will be among their opponents after also suffering failed play-off bids.

“There are so many ambitious clubs,” said Wild.

“Even in my three years as a manager at this level — and I felt this was a really good league I walked into back then — it has gone through the roof as a competition.

“A fantastic league with the champions getting 94 points this season.

“Going into the final two weeks of the season, there was a chance four teams could average two points a game. That’s phenomenal.

“The 84 points we managed to finish fourth this season, that would have been enough to win it last year. That shows just how competitive the league has become. A lot of that is down to big finances, with this season bringing the two biggest spenders of all time in the National League.”

And Wild says that has in turn made for increased competition in the transfer market.

Speaking to the The Athletic, Wild added: “You have players dropping out of League One — very good players who are playing for successful teams — to move into this division.”

Latics' head coach John Sheridan has been assured that his budget will not be adversely affected by relegation, but the club operated with the smallest wage bill in League Two last season.