Kear and Broadbent begin rescue attempt

Wakefield's new coaching partnership will begin their salvage operation on familiar ground this evening. Both John Kear and his assistant, Paul Broadbent, are from Castleford, where the Wildcats must win to keep their survival hopes healthy.

"It's a great place to start and it's a Roy of the Rovers situation," said Kear. "You could have written the script, with both of us coming from the town."

Kear has said that Wakefield need to win four of their remaining six games for 20 points and a realistic chance of avoiding the drop, but he refuses to call tonight's trip to The Jungle a must-win match. "I think four wins will do it, but I don't want to target particular matches, because that just puts the team under more pressure," he said.

Kear had made an in-depth study of Wakefield's last three games and has reached some conclusions. "We have a playing roster here, which if it plays to its potential is capable of winning against anybody," he said. "One thing they haven't lacked is heart and the willingness to work hard, but they can't be playing as 13 individuals. They need to work hard collectively."

Kear's fine-tuning is likely to include bringing back Tom Saxton, a versatile player he once signed for Hull but who has been out of favour at Belle Vue of late. "He can cover every position from one to five and can give us a lot of flexibility," he said.

There will be no Wakefield debut for the recent signing, Tevita Latu, who has returned to Australia to begin a community service order.

Castleford, who now have dreams of making the play-offs, are without the suspended Danny Brough, but Brad Davis is in line for yet another comeback and Danny Sculthorpe is available after avoiding a ban.

With no Super League games tomorrow, the spotlight falls on the top of National League One, where the runaway leaders, Hull KR, go to Leigh, eight points behind them in third place.

It was been an unsettling couple of weeks for the previously unbeaten Rovers, who lost to Leigh in the Northern Rail Cup and then were put firmly in their place by St Helens in their Challenge Cup semi-final. "I'm sure they will come here wanting to put the record straight," said the Leigh coach, Tony Benson.

Rovers are still without the injured Scott Murrell, Gareth Morton and Michael Smith, but have their new signings, Pat Weisner and Matty Brooks, who made their debuts in the midweek victory over York, available.

The Salford coach, Karl Harrison, has resigned from his other role, in charge of the England team. Harrison, who has had the job since 2004, said: "I have had great pleasure coaching England but I just felt I needed a spell out of it. I want to spend more time with my family at the end of the season."