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Phil Haswell25 Oct 2014 - 01:17
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VICTORY last weekend has given Westoe a bit of self-belief and Andy Howells believes the club may finally be getting their season on-track.

The 37-10 win over Beverley was only the JML-sponsored side’s second of the year and followed a run of five straight defeats when injuries were rife throughout the team. And while they still have their fair share in the treatment room, Howells has noticed a better atmosphere this week.

He said: “We had about 25 or 26 training which is pretty good and we’ve also got a strong second team out this week which is even better so I’m quite pleased really. There is a bit of a change so that’s alright. “We are definitely moving in the right direction so it’s looking a lot better.”

He puts that improvement in morale down to a number of things, of which the win is just one. David Haswell took over as one of the coaches in the summer, alongside former Italian international Carlo del Fava, and it is clear that players and supporters hold the man who came through the ranks at Wood Terrace in high regard. He had been absent from the touchline for a number of weeks but reappeared against Beverley. He said: “One win has given us some confidence back and the players have responded with Carlo and David. David is a big influence so it’s nice to have him back. His influence will be even more noticeable this weekend as he has been drafted into the squad due to a lack of scrum halves.

Howells revealed: “David is coming into scrum half as Chris Judson is away, Matthew Mellish is away and Jake Burrell is away. So that’s three scrum halves we’ve got missing but David tells me that he’s quite capable of playing nine.”

The visitors to South Tyneside this weekend are Sandal, who promise to be a difficult obstacle to overcome. The Yorkshire side currently sit in third place having won their previous six games. That run came close to being ended last Saturday when Huddersfield YMCA raced into a 14-0 lead early on. However Sandal came back to complete a 29-26 victory but Howells thinks that result may give his side even more impetus. He said: “It will be a tough game but Huddersfield ran them close last week so if we can get anywhere near them we’ll be al-right.”

The seconds hit the road as they travel to North Shields to play Percy Park. And while they go there on the back of a 61-19 defeat to Northern last weekend, they will be delighted at the turnaround in club fortunes and the size of the squad.

Kick offs in both games are at 3pm.

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