Fylde RFC's twin focus heading into the final half-dozen fixtures

The final phase of this campaign brings two of National Two North’s top three to the Woodlands, starting with Saturday’s visit from third-placed Sheffield (3pm).

While they appear to have overtaken Fylde this season, with four more wins and 13 more points to their name, Loney sees no reason why Fylde can’t trouble Sheffield and unbeaten leaders Leeds Tykes on home turf.

He told The Gazette: “We were under the pump at Huddersfield (34-32 win) and it took a lot of mental effort to grind out a win. We’ve freshened the lads up and hope to get a few guys back.

“The lads who played at Huddersfield did really well and have given us some decisions to make for Sheffield.

“It will be a really tough game but we were in a position to win at Sheffield, where we came back to take the lead but let them off the hook (34-28 loss).

“They have some outstanding players and have picked up a load of wins, but it would be wrong to think we can’t cause them problems if we get our game right and execute well.

“We felt we were more than in the Rotherham game (32-27 defeat) and could have got a result, so why can’t we put on performances against Sheffield and Leeds?

“The lads are still motivated and we’re still working on the things we want to do better, but it’s about mindset and accuracy on the day.”

Behind the scenes, attention is also being paid to recruitment and retention for next season.

Loney added: “We are very much at that time of year and we are pleased with how it’s going.

“We have players who have committed and we’ve agreed some new recruits, though there’s more work to be done.

“We want to be better next season and we believe the players we want to bring in will strengthen us.

“We have been a tad unlucky with availability of players this season but, if the right quality of player is available for next season, we want to bring them in.”