Whitehaven Rugby head coach Kyle Amor describes first week in job as a 'baptism of fire'

Whitehaven head coach Kyle Amor has described the last week as a "baptism of fire" as his squad agree to play over the weekend amid fears of player protests.

Amor, 37, was appointed as manager replacing Jonty Gorley on Monday, who resigned after the side's victory against Doncaster last weekend.

Coach Kyle Amor said: "It's been obviously a chaotic, baptism of fire whirlwind week, if you like. We've got there, we've got a playing group. Somehow we've managed to get them out there, we've had a brilliant training session tonight. You have to pay credit to all the players, I didn't think we'd get here."

Whitehaven travel to Dewsbury Rams in a bottom of the Championship league matchup on 25 August 2024. Some members of the team are still on strike despite a lot of players returning to training.

Amor explained: "I've explained the challenges that are ahead of us on Sunday. We didn't get everybody down there tonight that we would of liked to have done, but we managed to get through and show that true Cumbrian gritty underdog mentality of getting out there."

The club is currently experiencing financial problems, and earlier this week, players threatened to go on strike over issues with the board.

Kyle Amor says people within Whitehaven have been stopping him in the town, quizzing him on what's going to happen next.

He said: "I walked into town today, taking my dog around the harbour and there were so many people who were asking me questions and it was all from a good place.

"They want this club to do well, they want to enjoy the rugby league. We take it a game at a time and we thank the fans and continue to ask them for their patience. Ultimately, we just want them to back us."

Shaun Drinkwater, a Whitehaven fan for more than 50 years, says this is the most fearful he's felt over the future of the club.

He said: "It's very scary. We've been down here for years and this is worrying times but we think we'll have a team on Sunday. We'll keep going and we'll survive."

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