Whitehaven have re-signed forward Stephen Fox to complete their squad ahead of the new 2017 season.

The former Egremont amateur has been married since the end of last season and has only recently returned to training.

Chairman Tommy Todd said: “It’s been a hectic time for Stephen, so along with work commitments it’s taken a while to sit down and talk about a contract. That’s been agreed now and we are delighted that he’s back on board.”

Whitehaven coach Carl Forster added: “I’m really pleased that we’ve got Foxy back with us. I always wanted him in the squad as he’s got something to offer.”

Clearly Fox has not been back in training as long as the rest of the squad but will be hoping for some form of game time before the competitive season starts on February 9 against Workington Town.

He won’t be ready for Sunday’s trip to Barrow when Whitehaven will be looking to make a dramatic improvement on the 42-0 defeat at Keighley last week-end.

Todd said: “Nobody saw Sunday’s result coming. It was very disappointing and was a bad day at the office all round.

“The harder the players tried the worse it got and, naturally, Keighley grew in confidence. Anything that could have gone wrong actually did.

“I can’t help feeling that it would have been a bit different if Carl (Forster) had been out there to settle things down in the middle of the field.

“He had a bad bout of tonsillitis, and although it was always his plan to sit-out the game, there was no way he could have come on to steady the ship.

“It will be a tough test at Barrow on Sunday but I know everybody is looking for a much- improved display. The training had gone so well in the build-up that the performance was completely unexpected on the day.”