Last updated at 13:31, Friday, 08 February 2013

Workington Town joint coach Gary Charlton is expecting fans to flood back to Derwent Park to spur his side on to victory when they entertain Halifax on Sunday (ko 3pm).

Gary Charlton

Town beat Swinton Lions 14-10 in their Championship opener last Sunday, and Charlton knows that his players are going to have to be on top of their game against last season’s Northern Rail Cup winners.

“We’ve put a new team together and they showed plenty of commitment last Sunday and that’s what you build your team around,” said Charlton. “They’re certainly not backward at coming forward. We put in a great defensive display at Swinton and we’re going to have to do that again. We know we can attack a lot better.

“The team is only going to get better with game time and if we can stay relatively injury-free, we can have a very good season,” he added.

“And the stadium is looking great, like a rugby ground should, not the tired-looking Derwent Park we’re used to.”

Winger John Patrick, who has missed the start of the season due to work commitments, joins the squad, while centre Jason Mossop, who turned an ankle in the victory against Swinton, is set to be sidelined. And Sunday will see banned prop Jamie Acton serve the last match of his suspension – he will be available for the trip to Doncaster on Sunday week.

Town were still waiting to make a decision on whether they would use any of the Widnes Vikings on dual-registration.

Sunday’s game was given the green light after a pitch inspection yesterday. Match commissioner Peter Gilmour cast his eye over the pitch where replacement turf hadn’t quite fully knitted. But after work by the Town staff, he was quite happy to confirm the game would go ahead.

Town are appealing for volunteers to help out on Sunday in various roles. Anybody interested should contact the club on 01900 603609 today or on Sunday morning.

First published at 11:43, Friday, 08 February 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk