Amor unsure whether Whitehaven rift can be healed

Image source, Rex Features

Image caption, Kyle Amor was appointed by Whitehaven on Monday - his first coaching role having previously played for the club

Whitehaven head coach Kyle Amor said he is unsure whether a rift between the club's board and players can be fixed.

Amor, 37, was appointed by the club on Monday as replacement for Jonty Gorley, who resigned following the Championship side's win against Doncaster on Sunday.

His arrival has coincided with a period of financial uncertainty at the club, culminating in the players refusing to fulfil the remaining six games of the season.

"As things have panned out, way out of my control, there's a fractured and broken club here," Amor told 大象传媒 Look North.

"Can it be fixed? I don't know. I hope it can but we'll have to wait and see.

"I feel sorry for the fans the most. I've been a lad who's stood on the terrace and this area, West Cumbria, is built upon two things and that's mining and rugby league.

"We've already lost one of those and it feels like we're very much in danger of losing another."

'The minute you lose trust, it's hard to get back'

It has been a strained summer for Whitehaven, with chief executive Barry Morgan resigning in June, a number of board members stepping down from their positions, and player wages going unpaid.

Matters at the club have worsened in recent days, with Amor arriving at the club where he started his playing career to find a lack of backroom staff in addition to low morale.

"I arrived after a number of phone calls on the way up to find there's no other coaches here now, there's no performance staff or team managers," the former St Helens and Wakefield Trinity prop added.

"As a result of a pretty chaotic 24 hours, the players have now decided that until the relationship between them and the board can heal, or things can be met in terms of negotiation, then unfortunately and sadly Whitehaven cannot fulfil any of its remaining fixtures.

"It's disappointing but I have to admit, I understand everybody involved, I understand the frustrations of the board and the players. But ultimately the two need to go hand in hand otherwise there is no club, there are no games, and there is no team."

Whitehaven are second from bottom in rugby league's second tier with six games remaining and Amor said that the club and the players need to come to an amicable solution if they are to move forward.

"In any relationship, whether that's a personal or business one, the minute you lose trust it makes it incredibly hard to get back," he added.

"That's what the two parties have got to work out between themselves. If they can, which I hope they do, then they've got a job to do, and that's to keep Whitehaven in the Championship."