Seven years ago Neil Frazer strode out for Workington Town in a play-off final wearing the number five shirt – this weekend he will be on the coaching staff as they take on Bradford Bulls in the promotion decider at Odsal.

It was a memorable occasion for Frazer as Town took on Keighley at Warrington’s Halliwell-Jones Stadium, as he prepared to hang up his boots back in 2011.

And although Workington did not win the final on that occasion, he feels that the current class have the power to change the club’s fortunes and propel them up into the Championship.

“Leon Pryce has come in this year and I’ve never met anyone who is so enthusiastic about the game,” said Frazer. “He has so much knowledge of the game and the way he wants the lads to play is spot on.

“His video sessions are really good and shows what we are doing right and shows what we can do better.

“There’s little things that I always pick up from him while training on the field as well and have learned a lot about the game from him this year.

“Once the lads started to understand and play the way he wanted them to we’ve played some great rugby.

“At the start of the season our team chopped and changed a bit and we couldn’t get any consistency and we lost and threw some games away that we shouldn’t have.

“We seemed to turn the corner around June and went on to win nine of the next 10 fixtures with the only defeat coming from the last kick of the game against Haven.

“I think going away to the likes of Oldham and then later at Bradford and getting wins there gave the lads a lot of confidence and they knew they could beat anyone in the league.”

Frazer knows Sunday will be tough against a Bradford side desperate to begin their climb back up through the leagues.

But he added that the pressure was still on their opponents, who finished higher up the league table, despite Town beating them twice.

He added: “I think Sunday will be a tough game for us and we will have to be at our best to go there and win again.

“They will not want to be beat by us again after beating them in the previous two games.

“Even though there’s a lot at stake we don’t need to put too much pressure on ourselves and we can go there and enjoy the occasion.

“All the pressure will be on them as everyone is expecting them to win. But if our forwards can lay a good platform and give us some go forward so that Jamie (Doran) and Buffer (Carl Forber) can play off the back of it there’s no reason we can’t do it again.

“It’s vital that we get through our sets and stay in the arm wrestle with them. The lads also have to de-fend like their lives depend on it.”

Back in 2011, Town beat Keighley in the play-off semi-final but found the Cougars just had too much bite when they met again in the final.

The long-serving winger had celebrated his testimonial with the club the previous year and bade an emotional farewell to the club’s loyal fans after the game.

But it has not been the end of his association with the club as after a short spell in the amateur ranks coaching, he returned to Derwent Park and is now a key member of Leon Pryce’s team. And his family are behind him all the way with wife Stacey and daughter Imogen regulars in the stand, along with mum Lynda and mother-in-law Pat and his son Ethan is now a ball boy.

But Frazer admits it is a completely different feeling, standing on the sidelines.

“When you’re playing, you know what you need to do to help the team win and you can do something out on the field,” said Frazer.

“But when you’re on the coaching side and can’t contribute on the field you just hope the lads can follow the game plan that’s in place and get the win.

“When I played I was always really nervous before every game and hated the way I felt before going into matches and that’s something I don’t miss.

“Once I got my first touch, the nerves went and I just got on with my game.

“Nowadays it’s a complete turnaround. I’m ok leading up to matches but once kick off approaches, and during the game, I’m really nervous hoping we get the win.

And he recalls the last final seven years ago as something they can learn from.

“I can remember after the semi-final there was a real buzz around the club and the whole town,” he added.

“With it going to be my last appearance for the club I was made up that it was going to be in a final and could hopefully go out on a high by helping them to gain promotion.

“On the day I can remember coming out for the warm up and couldn’t believe how many Town fans had turned up to support us and the noise they made was unreal but on the day we just didn’t quite play to our potential.

“In the end Keighley ran out comfortable winners. I did manage to get on the scoresheet late on and was great to score in front of my family and friends and all the supporters that had given me such great support over many years.”

Frazer said the fans will be key this weekend and appealed to them all to come down in their droves.

“We’ve had great support all season both home and away and can’t say enough about how crucial it is,” he said.

“On Sunday at Doncaster you could here them all game cheering and encouraging the lads on.

“You wouldn’t believe how much this helps and I know the lads really appreciate it.

“We just need more of them to come back regularly every week.

“We got nearly 1600 for the home game against York, I know they brought a couple of hundred up but if we could get the rest there every week it would not just be great for the lads to play in front of but would help the club massively.”