Whitehaven boss James Coyle insists his side need to stick together following their latest loss against Workington Town.

Haven suffered their sixth consecutive derby defeat – their fifth alone in 2015 – at the hands of a ruthless Town side as they conceded 11 tries.

Coyle’s side has been hit by a number of injuries throughout the season but the Haven head coach has questioned the mental toughness of his side’s crucial final Championship encounter with Doncaster on Saturday evening.

“We are battered and broken,” he said. “On Sunday we needed to play together and limit the number of errors.

“We were well in the game after 20 minutes and I thought we were taking control.

“Dion Aiye was coming to the fore and I’m sure Grant [Gore] would have followed his lead had we carried on like that. But the interception by [Jarrod] Sammut which led to the try killed us.

“It mentally tested us and it was disappointing in the way we collapsed.

“We realised in the second half that we had to put a performance together and get a bit of pride back. I challenged the players’ desire to play for the club.

“It’s been tough for us in training because we’ve struggled to get on the field due to the injuries we’re carrying.

“They are at the club when we have training but it doesn’t mean you can get out on the park and do what you want to do.

“I don’t think they worked hard enough for each other.

“You have to play as a team and the lads need to address that.

Haven were hit with a huge blow as influential captain Scott McAvoy was forced off early in the first half with an injury.

“Our game plan revolved around our left edge and that’s where we thought we could beat them.

“Macca was key to that and losing him early on was crucial.”

n Halifax head coach Richard Marshall has been named as the Kingstone Press Championship Coach of the Year.

Marshall picked up his award at last night’s season-ending awards ceremony in Manchester ahead of Haven head coach James Coyle and Leigh Centurions boss Paul Rowley.

The former England Academy coach masterminded a nine-match winning run to secure a Qualifiers berth ahead of the split into the Super 8s.