Whitehaven are sweating over the fitness of several players ahead of the crunch derby clash at Workington Town on Sunday.

Louis Jouffret, Dion Aiye, Chris Taylor, Thomas Coyle and Stephen Fox will all face late fitness tests ahead of the Championship encounter, ko 3pm.

With both sides sitting at the bottom of the league, a derby has never been more important.

“At this time some of these players would not play,” admitted coach James Coyle.

“But we still have a few days left and we will be doing our best to get them fit and on the pitch.

“Our result was probably expected last week but the other results all went against us.

“It has created a really tight little group of teams and with two more games before the Super Eights, the teams could all swap around depending on results.

“If Town win at the weekend then they will start to claw their way back up into the fight.

“It shows just how close these teams are and it can take a bit of luck or the bounce of a ball to make the difference.”

Coyle appealed to fans of both sides to head to the Zebra Claims Stadium and cheer their teams on, saying that it can provide a perfect boost.

He added: “I hope that plenty of people go and watch the game to create a real occasion for the players.

“It is easier to motivate them in those situations and fans can play a huge part.”

Within hours of the advertisement appearing for a new coach Whitehaven had two ‘interesting’ applications for the job.

Both from outside the county, they have given the Whitehaven board food for thought as they prepare to choose a successor to James Coyle who stands down at the end of the season.

Local speculation has centred on current assistant coach Gary Broadbent along with the former Barrow coach Dave Clark, who had been in charge of the Academy Under-19s side Cumbria Storm until it folded recently.

Director Mark Stamper said: “We received two applications from people outside the county and they provided CV’s which I would describe as interesting.

“The application only went in the rugby league press on Monday and we hope to receive a few more so that we can get round to arranging interviews.”

Coyle, who has had wretched luck with injuries throughout the season, told the board last week that he was going to stand down after the last game because of added commitments to his business and his family.