AHEAD of the beginning of the next season for Kendal Rugby Club, director of rugby Steve Whitehead has spoken confidently of his side's chances in the league.

The team finished tenth last season, with an unlucky batch of injuries in the last few games, and have since strengthened in depth and brought in a new coaching team to bolster the squad.

This season Kendal will be looking to build on the progress made last year to secure a higher-placed finish in the table.

Whitehead said: "I think most seasons you are aiming for a top four finish. Last season we were unlucky with injuries and we struggled a bit.

"This season we are looking to be more expressive and play a more expansive game. We want to be more cohesive from one through to fifteen, which is something we did make progress in last season.

"We have looked at our weaknesses from last year and made some changes. Overall we are looking to get more out of the squad we had.

"We have made some new additions but that is mainly to provide more strength in depth. With the new head coach Tom Borthwick I think we will get the best out of the squad we have.

"The lads deserve it. Most of them have put in two years of hard work and have grafted. It was hard for us all last year with the ground moving."

New head coach Tom Borthwick will be joined by forwards coach Rob Quarry, who previously coached the ladies and the seconds.

Players that have been added to the team who have been getting an outing during the pre-season games include Mark Irving at prop, youngster Myles Harrop, Nick Carlton, Liam Ridley and Zane Butler back from injury.

In the league, Kendal face Ilkley on September first. They also faced Ilkley first last season.

Whitehead added: "We are excited for the Ilkley game. We always like to focus on ourselves, and with Tom we have one leader.

"This will help the team in terms of clarity and having a single vision. The acid test will be in the pre-season games, and then it will be good to see how we have improved from last year when we start in the league."