WHITEHAVEN captain Scott McAvoy believes his side are ready to turn a corner this weekend as he and his teammates prepare for their pre-season friendly against Workington Town.

Haven welcome Town to The Recreation Ground tomorrow night, kick-off 6.30pm, in the annual Ike Southward Memorial Trophy fixture.

Town are current holders of the trophy and have also won the last six derby fixtures.

Despite this, McAvoy believes that his side can put that behind them and start 2016 on a positive note.

“Workington have had the upper hand on us over the last year or so,” he said. “It might be a case of them handling the derbies a little bit better.

“But I wouldn’t say they were the better team.

“There’s no doubting the importance of this game, it’s very important not just for the clubs but for the towns as well.

“We are looking really positive in training and we are definitely out to win the game tomorrow.

“We’re all pretty excited. We’ve done all the hard work in pre-season: the wrestle sessions, hill sessions and fitness, and it’s great that we’ve started to train with ball in hand.

“Training has been great, and we look sharp, we haven’t looked as though we’re a new team that’s been put together and it’s great that we have strength in depth now.

“Our new signings, like Elliot [Miller] have fit in right away and the game tomorrow will be great for players to see where they are at in terms of their own preparations for the new season.”

Speaking about his change in shirt number from number four to number 12, McAvoy added: “The number four has been with me for a while, but I’m seen as more of a second-row now and I think that’s where James [Coyle] sees me in the long-term.”