Workington Town chairman Les Smallwood is excited to see head coach Chris Thorman continue to put his stamp on the side as they return to League One action this weekend.

Thorman takes his team to West Wales on Saturday looking to make it back-to-back wins in the league after beating Hunslet at Derwent Park on May 19.

The young coach came to west Cumbria at the start of last month with a good reputation and Smallwood believes it is justified from what he has seen so far.

He said: “Chris is a really positive and professional guy.

“He’s focused on what he needs to do and it’s about improvement every week.

“Numbers at training have been the best they’ve been all year so the players are obviously buying into what he wants to do.

“He is getting the best out of what he’s got and although there is still a lot of work to do, we are 100 per cent behind him and the team.

“The reports I’m getting back from training are really positive.”

With Town now out of both the Challenge Cup and the 1895 Cup, Thorman is free to focus all of his attention on the league campaign but Smallwood stressed that was always the priority.

“The main focus was always the league,” he said.

“The Leigh game was a bonus financially but it was also a distraction.

“The 1895 Cup wasn’t a priority but it gave Chris two chances to look at what players we’ve got and what we’ve got to work on.”

Workington are also due to welcome back Ollie Wilkes, Tyllar Mellor and Perry Singleton from injury soon after the recent return of Ryan Fieldhouse.

West Wales have been the division’s whipping boys so far this season and are yet to pick up a point, with only Keighley beneath them in the table as the Cougars suffered a points deduction.

Smallwood was also pleased with the Q&A event which featured Thorman and new Workington Reds manager Danny Grainger last Friday at Derwent Park and hopes the two clubs can continue to strengthen their relationship.

“That sort of collaboration between the two clubs has never happened before,” he said.

“I think it’s really important going forward that we work together and the reaction was really positive from all the fans who attended.

“Both coaches spoke really well and we are hoping to do more together.”