Fylde RFC coach Alex Loney seeks strong finish in final five games

The joint-head coach is confident his second-placed charges won't lack for motivation despite seeing their hopes of catching National Two North leaders Sedgley Park recede in the three weeks since they last played.

Those hopes were briefly raised by Sedgley's first defeat of the season at Tynedale only for last weekend's 30-19 win at third-placed Hull Ionians to lift the Mancunians 12 points clear.

The Woodlands club may have a game in hand, but with a maximum 25 points at their disposal the odds are very much against Fylde.

Loney told the Gazette: “All we can do is keep the pressure on. After their defeat at Tynedale, it would have been nice to have stayed within one win of Sedgley but I firmly believe they won't slip up again.

“We want to finish the season strongly. All our eyes are on ourselves and getting our performances right. We want the players to be full of energy.”

The coaches stuck with their decision to give the squad last week off, a plan made before their fixture at Huddersfield was postponed to leave a lengthy gap between games.

Loney added: “That cancellation wasn't ideal but keeping the players fresh is what's important. “There isn't masses to bring in at this stage of the season in terms of detail – it's about the wellness of the players.

“We hope those who have been carrying knocks will be back to full health and hopefully we'll get it right on Saturday.”

Fylde hope dual-registered Sale Sharks flanker Tristan Woodman will be back after some headline-grabbing Six Nations performances for England Under-20s.

“Tristan will have a health check after the Six Nations and we hope he will be available,” said Loney.

“That was another positive step forward in his career and we are committed to giving him an important role here to further his development.”

Visitors for the penultimate game of the season at the Woodlands are a Sheffield side who haven't played since March 4 either and have lost five of their last six – the win was over bottom club Blaydon.

However, the 11th-placed team made Fylde work hard for a 24-5 victory in South Yorkshire in November. “That was a tough one and we expect nothing else on Saturday,” said Loney. “Thankfully we only have one game to catch up on and we expect the players to be firing.”

That one game at Huddersfield will stretch Fylde's season by a week to April 29.

It means no break before the County Championship campaign, which starts the following weekend.

Loney will again be involved on the coaching side for Lancashire, with a sizeable contingent of Fylde players expected to take part.

Lancashire’s opening fixture in Bill Beaumont Division One will be away to Cheshire before they visit unlikely North group members Hertfordshire on Saturday May 13. The group games conclude a week later, when Lancashire host the Roses derby with Yorkshire at Sedgley Park.