Head coach Paul Crarey is delighted with how the amateur players training with Barrow Raiders have been performing during pre-season, with them looking to force their way into his plans.

Under new regulations from the RFL, the Raiders will be allowed to sign up to ten amateurs on dual registration deals for the 2020 Betfred League One season.

Should any of them sign up, it would give Crarey the safety net of being able to call upon them should Barrow go through the sort of chronic injury crisis that crippled them as they struggled against relegation from the Championship.

Players from clubs like Millom, Barrow Island, Askam and Dalton have been joining in with the pros at Craven Park over the last month, which has included the endurance tests at Roanhead and Barrow Park.

Crarey said: "We started pre-season early and we don't start playing until later, which allows us to gel as a group and get the amateurs up to speed because with us having a smaller squad, we will be calling on them fellas if we pick up any injuries.

"It's the nature of us financially, as a club, that we've got to do that, but we wouldn't have it any other way because these lads can push and become full-time professional players with us.

"That's what they're striving for and they're actually pushing our players on because they're so enthusiastic and really up for the challenge. It's really pushing our other players to keep up with them"

With only captain Jarrad Stack and vice-captain Nathan Mossop having to miss out from training recently due to an infected elbow and shoulder surgery, respectively, most of the Raiders' squad is progressing at the same rate ahead of the first pre-season friendly against Oldham on January 5.

However, their staff are giving some of the players schedules and routines tailored for their needs, such as former Hull KR prop Lee Jewitt, who is settling into the squad after signing during the autumn after a sabbatical from rugby due to a succession of injuries.

Crarey said: "We're going really well and, fingers crossed, touch wood, we can stay healthy for the start of the season.

"Everyone is going to get knocks during pre-season because that's the nature of pre-season, it's so hard, but we've started with a clean bill of health, apart from a couple of setbacks.

"We're having to manage our senior players - Lee Jewitt doesn't do the hills and stuff like that, but like Martin Aspinwall he's looked after himself.

"We've given him a programme for the weights from Paddy Maher and the physios, so it's just about managing some of them and improving the fitness of the other fellas.

"The ten amateur lads that have been with us have been amazing - they've put their soul into it and they're forming a bond now with the senior players, so we're becoming one big group."