Whitehaven head coach James Coyle wants his players to sign off the year in style in their final Championship Shield fixture against Doncaster.

The Cumbrian outfit need a win on Saturday evening to secure their place in the Championship next year, but defeat would set up an anxious wait as Hunslet, who are just two points behind, play Batley the following day.

If there is a 58-point swing across the two games, Whitehaven would be relegated to League One.

Coyle’s side are currently on a three-match losing streak and the Haven coach wants to end the 2015 season on a positive note with a win against Doncaster.

“We have to perform no matter what happens,” Coyle said.

“We need to perform well and finish the season with some credibility.

“The last three weeks have given the appearance of this year being a lost cause, but we want to finish the season strong so we can make things more positive.

“Things are a bit negative at the moment but it hasn’t been a negative year at all.

“This is the first step for us in becoming a good side.”

A number of Haven players are sidelined with injuries and some are carrying knocks but Coyle wants them to push through the final league game and finish the season in style.

“We need to stick together and help each other out,” he continued. “We have injured players but they haven’t got a game to prepare for the week after.

“There’s one game to go and everything is riding on the game against Doncaster.

“If anybody feels as though they have under-performed over the last few weeks, they need to go out there and do it for their own sake.

“The off-season can be a bit of a lonely place for a player who has been on a bit of a bad run and we don’t want that to carry on over into next year.”