James Coyle admitted that making the decision to leave Whitehaven at the end of the season was tough.

The Haven coach announced earlier this week that he would be standing down after the final game this term. But he is also determined to try to go out with a bang by saving the club from relegation.

“This was my first coaching job so it was a tough choice to make. If I lived 20 minutes away then I would probably have carried on but I have a lot of other commitments which take away from what I can offer the club,” said Coyle.

“It wasn’t fair on the club or my family to carry on doing what I was doing. I can’t do a proper job.”

Wigan-born Coyle came to Whitehaven as an assistant to Steve Deakin whose reign as Haven coach lasted only a few weeks before he quit on the eve of last season.

Coyle was then appointed by Haven and at 29 was one of the youngest head coaches in the professional game.

“I came to start learning my trade as a coach and that was part of the reason I came here,” he added.

“But I didn’t expect the responsibility that I ended up with. I have enjoyed doing it and everyone would probably agree that we have done a pretty good job in the last 18 months considering what we are up against.

“The results have not always gone our way and things have not gone perfectly to plan but that’s rugby league, you get injuries.

“But I don’t want to leave a job unfinished. That was a big part of why I spoke to Whitehaven now.

“For them to be able to move forward it wouldn’t have been fair for me to keep on doing the job and then walk away at the end of the season. I wanted the club to know what I was thinking and then I could get on with doing my job for the rest of the season.”

Haven will be advertising the post, possibly as early as next week, in the trade papers.