Whitehaven head coach James Coyle says that there is a clean slate at the club during pre-season as the side prepares for 2016.

Although the majority of Coyle’s squad have remained at The Recreation Ground, the Haven boss says that pre-season is a chance for everyone to show what they have to offer at the club.

With the season starting in three months' time, Coyle says it’s up to the players to stake their case for a starting berth in the squad.

“I know a lot about the players after spending a full season with them,” he said. “And we’ve got 12 weeks until our first game.

“We’re a lot better than we were at this time last year and we have progressed really well.

“There’s a blank slate for everyone at the club and I definitely won’t be picking any sort of team until the time of our first game.”

This time last year, Coyle was preparing himself for the new season as a player/assistant coach.

Now in charge of the team, the Haven boss says the approach to a pre-season schedule as a head coach presents a new challenge.

“It’s completely different to preparing for it as a player,” he continued. “I don’t have to think about how tough it will be for me personally but we know that the team has to be fit and we want them to be ready for the new season.

“We’ve done a lot this year behind the scenes and we’ve been getting things in place for the new season.

“We’ve redone the gym underneath the stand and made a lot more usable space so it’s been all about adding to that and getting things ready for when the lads come in for pre-season.

“I’m really looking forward to it. Most of our squad is finalised and we’re all ready to get started.”

Meanwhile, hooker Thomas Coyle and prop Stephen Fox have re-signed for 2016.