ILKLEY head of rugby Rhys Morgan thinks a victory against Lymm on Saturday will kick-start his side's league campaign.

This term, the Dalesman find themselves at the foot of the North Premier table, after only recording one win in the seven fixtures played and contracting a -132 points difference.

The 23-7 win came against Alnwick last month and is the only highlight for the Stacks Field side in what has been a dismal start.

However, after having a fortnight break, thanks to a postponement at Rossendale and England's World Cup final miseries, Ilkley have had a chance to recharge the batteries.

Morgan believes this rest will have benefitted his squad, providing them with a chance to allow several players to recover from injuries and put in the essential training needed to get them back firing on all cylinders.

He said: "Rightly or wrongly we had a team social last Thursday, which the captain asked for it.

"We have got Luke Pearson and Eddie King back for the weekend.

"Nathan Hyde is desperate to get another opportunity and has been training really well so I think he will be involved this weekend.

"Joe Patten has also really stood up and is really taking the bull by the horns.

"If we can get the win on Saturday it will build the confidence and we can go from there."

Ilkley host Lymm and will be hoping to follow the double they achieved over their north west neighbours last season.

The Dalesmen struggled across the lines on both occasions, winning narrowly 16-21 and 20-18, leading to a eighth-placed finish.

The home side are six points away from 13th-placed Rossendale, with their opponent's seven places above, despite being unable to record an away victory all season.

Morgan hails Lymm's start to the season, which has included victories against Blackburn and Rossendale, but is confident that his squad are capable of getting more points on the board to move away from the drop zone as they close in on the Christmas period.

He added: "They (Lymm) struggled last year but have learned a little since then. They have had some close fixtures and played well this year.

"It is a game we could win and one we have targeted. We need to try close that gap between us and the rest of the league.

"We have pin-pointed December and I hope we can start by taking some points from this game.

"We have got a strong team to compete as we have shown in performances against teams like Macclesfield and Carlisle.

"We are building in strength we just need to start getting the results by sticking together and working on different things."