Whitehaven expect to be able to announce a third warm-up game ahead of the 2019 season very soon.

Talks with a fellow League One side are well advanced and it just needs the confirmation of players’ availability to go ahead with the fixture.

Haven chairman Tommy Todd said: "We have agreed with the club concerned that a game will take place before the season starts on February 17.

"It will be either at the back end of January or in early February.

"Both clubs are checking on the availability of players before we confirm the date and make a public announcement."

The game will be played at the Recreation Ground, after January 20 and before February 17, when Haven open their competitive programme at home to Keighley Cougars.

The annual Ike Southward Memorial Trophy game will be played at Derwent Park on January 13 with a trip to Barrow on January 20 giving Haven back-to-back derby warm-ups.

Whitehaven are close to announcing a new forward signing and would like to be able to complete three captures before the end of the year.

Chairman Todd said: "Team strengthening has been going well but we still have room for three or four more.

"I hope that the first of these [signings] will be announced in the next few days and that the other two will follow on from there around Christmas and the New Year.

"I’m pleased to see a buzz around the place as we gear up for what I am sure is going to be a very interesting season at our level.

"We have the new 1895 Cup, which has its final at Wembley as a new initiative, although to be fair, personally I have mixed views.

"I would much have preferred extra league games, but with only 11 competing teams, it would have meant loop fixtures where teams play each other more than twice.

"Although it’s not ideal, those loop fixtures could have been regionalised so we would play Town twice more and Newcastle twice more.

"Clubs would then have four more fixtures, whereas in the new cup, it’s only one if you go out in the first round."