Delighted Workington Town coach Dave Clark says his side can take plenty of positives into the new season

Town won the pre-season derby encounter 32-16 after coming back from 10-0 down in the opening quarter.

And, with good performances across the park, Clark says his side are steadily improving with every game

"Whitehaven had a good start and got 10 points up, so it was a good mentality for us to be a bit patient, stick to our systems and slowly claw ourselves back into the game," said Clark.

"After the first two games, this was another level for us regarding intensity.

"Whitehaven were very strong at times and they asked a lot of questions of us physically and mentally, so it was another opportunity for us to step forward for the season ahead.

"We will take a lot of confidence from the win. I think the boys can see that we can compete if we do the little things right."

And he admitted it was nice to start his derby career off by bringing the Ike Southward Memorial Trophy back to Derwent Park.

"With it being the Ike Southward memorial game, it was more important for us but it was another challenge for us to step forward for the start of the competition," he added.

Whitehaven assistant coach Anthony Stewart admitted his side lacked composure but said they would come back.

"It was very disappointing," he said.

"We came into this game quite confident. Even though the last three games were defeats, the lads were on a high.

"But we have just come here and not got the result we needed.

"The first 20 minutes we did well and after that we lacked composure.

"I think Workington played well, their completion rate was high and they kept to their game plan."

"Every time we looked like we were coming back, Workington stepped up that gear and you have to take your hat off to them," he added.

"This gives us a lot to work on and we have two weeks to improve.

"We need to keep hold of the ball and compete and the lads have to learn to play together."