Workington Town coach Chris Thorman said that the 48-10 defeat at Newcastle Thunder on Sunday, was waiting to happen.

Town, who are seventh in League One and travel to play eighth-placed North Wales Crusaders on Sunday, have a mountain to climb if they are to challenge for the end-of-season play-offs.

“I’m not going to hold back any punches - we need to train better and get as many players to training as possible,” said Thorman.

“Unfortunately, players are not quite prioritising the game.

“We need to train more and show more consistency, there’s no bones about it.

“Our preparation hasn’t been good, and we haven’t trained well enough to win the last two games.”

The 10-try defeat to third-placed Thunder saw the hosts storm away in the early stages. Thorman added: “They scored a couple of freakish early tries and, within 20 minutes, we were 22-0 down.

“Then, they didn’t score for 30 minutes and we should have got it back to 22-10, at least, but missed a couple of good chances.

“Instead of building a bit of pressure, we let them back in and it went the opposite way.”

To add to Thorman’s woes, three of his players picked up injuries on Sunday, to add to two players who will be out long-term.

Full-back Ryan Fieldhouse picked up a serious knee injury, while Calvin Wellington (hamstring) and skipper Ollie Wilkes (knee) will be doubtful for this weekend’s trip to Wales.

“It’s very frustrating that we haven’t got a lot of players to come in,” said Thorman.

“Add to that long-term injuries to Caine Barnes and Elliot Miller, having a squad of about 24 players doesn’t leave a lot of options.

“All we can do is stick together, turn up for training, and buy in together.”