Kyle Amor: Whitehaven boss unsure rift betwen board and players can be fixed

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.”