WHARFEDALE head coach Jon Feeley has said his players have the "right attitude" to return to winning ways after the Greens' five-game unbeaten run came to an end at Hinckley.

"You couldn't have written a better script for Hinckley," said Feeley, whose Greens lost 17-7 to the Midlands side last Saturday.

"The pitch was an absolute quagmire. The heavy pitch immediately took away our speed of foot, and the howling wind and rain nullified the kicking game.

"They were significantly bigger and heavier than us and the conditions were in their favour."

Feeley also said his team's preparation was affected when they only arrived at the ground 25 minutes before kick-off because of traffic congestion.

"Because of the state of the main ground, we had to warm up on the under-8s pitch."

With the conditions working against them and the fact that Hinckley are third in National League Two North, Feeley said he could not fault the effort of his players.

"I was incredibly proud of the effort the boys put in," said Feeley. "We did not have our normal preparations on the day.

"I couldn't fault the effort, application and attitude of the players. It was outstanding."

Feeley did say his players were very disappointed to lose at Hinckley.

"The boys were really disappointed to lose because of the effort we put in. The tries we conceded we wouldn't have done on another day."

Even though they were upset, Feeley said: "The fact that they won't accept losing is a great attitude to have. It means they will work hard in training to put it right."

Two of his players suffered injuries during the Hinckley game.

Jack Blakeney-Edwards twisted his knee, but returned to play later the game.

However, the in-form goal kicker will not be available for Wharfedale's home game against Chester this Saturday because of a private engagement.

Blakeney-Edwards' absence means new signing Tom Davidson, who has returned to the club from Preston Grasshoppers, and youngster Louis Verity will be compete for a place at the No 10 position.

Dan Stockdale also took a heavy knock and he will be assessed in training this week to determine his availability for Saturday.

Feeley said Wharfedale will be hoping to avenge their 26-14 defeat on the "plastic pitch" at Chester earlier this season.

Chester, who are two places above and seven points ahead of the 10th placed Greens, have had a mixed season after they finished their 2018/2019 campaign in second, but missed out on promotion by losing in the play-offs.

"Chester are renowned for being a formidable scrummaging unit, so we need to concentrate on our set-piece play," said Feeley. "We're also hoping for better conditions so we can get our running game going."

Feeley said groundsman Fred Fox, who used to work on the Leeds United has "kept the Avenue pitch in remarkably good condition considering the poor weather we've had".

The match against Chester will kick off at 3pm at the Avenue.