Delighted Workington Town coach Leon Pryce said he was pleased to bring the Ike Southward Memorial Trophy back home to Derwent Park after their 24-6 victory over Whitehaven.

But the Town boss also paid tribute to a gritty Whitehaven performance and said fans had to keep it all in perspective as they prepare for the start of the league season.

He admitted, though, they looked in much better shape than they had this time last year.

“I was pleased with the first half but we’ve only had three or four weeks pre-season properly, so we have to keep it in perspective,” said Pryce. “It’s nice to win but there is still a lot of work to do.

“We’re far ahead of where we were this time last year but, in the second half, we started really sloppy, giving ball and possession away, making errors and looking for silly passes and that was slack.

"We can’t afford to do that in any game so we need to iron that out in training.

"Credit as well to Whitehaven, they were good. They’re a brand new team with new faces and I thought they were really tough, they had a big dig.”

Pryce had special praise for some of the new signings, especially trialist Jonathan Walsh who was outstanding throughout.

Two tries from new signing Ryan Fieldhouse, plus one apiece for Carl Forber and Tyllar Mellor were enough to see Town through, along with four goals from Forber.

Haven coach Gary Charlton was not too despondent after the loss, saying there was a lot he could take away from the game.

“There were plenty of positives,” he said. 

“In the first half, we didn’t really do the basics right but, in the second half, we defended better and asked a few questions and got back into the game at 18-6.

“There were just a couple of errors that Workington managed to capitalise on.

“But we didn’t expect miracles, it didn’t all fall into place but there was lots of effort and commitment, and the big plus for me was that Tom Wilkinson was outstanding.

"It will take time, we’ve had them for five or six weeks and things will only get better.”