IT has been a tough season at Hawcoat Park.

New manager Trevor Houston has admitted he has been finding his feet, a clutch of young players have been doing likewise in the West Lancs League, and since Christmas they have managed to played only two games thanks to the weather.

Hawcoat make the trip to Duddon Road for a local derby against Askam United tomorrow sitting 13th of 16 teams in Division One, sandwiched between their two other South Cumbrian rivals, GSK Ulverston Rangers and Crooklands Casuals.

“It's been my first season as manager in the West Lancs League, so it's been a learning curve,” said Houston, for whom last weekend's 2-1 defeat at Hurst Green was a first game in a month as rain and frozen pitches have affected fixtures across the league.

“We've got quite a young team and it has been fine margins. We've conceded quite a few last-minute goals and missed chances. It's trying to get that right. We're trying to finish as high as we can.”

Hawcoat's position in 13th does not tell the whole story, as they have played only 17 games – fewer than any other side in the division – and have scored more goals in those games than all but one of the other sides in the bottom half, the exception being tomorrow's opponents.

Elliott Moore has 16 of those 41 goals, the fourth-best tally in the division, and he will be targeting more at Duddon Road, as Hawcoat look to avenge a 4-1 defeat in the reverse fixture back in August.

“We didn't play for a good six or seven weeks and we have a lot of games in hand down there,” added Houston. “It's a case of winning out games in hand – but that's easier said than done. Points on the board are better than games in hand.

“Tomorrow is going to be a tough local derby; it's never an easy game playing Askam.”

Houston welcomes back both Mike Melia and Sam Stephens tomorrow, with both having missed the two games Park have played since the turn of the year.

Askam, meanwhile, are 10th, four points above Hawcoat having played four games more.

And, while their visitors tomorrow have endured a succession of games being called off, United have played on five of the last six weekends, though they have only one win to show from those games.

That came two weeks ago when they defeated Kendal United 5-2 at Duddon Road, with Callum Rayner scoring a brace to take his tally for the season to 11, a result followed by a 3-0 lost at Lostock St Gerards last weekend.

Elsewhere in West Lancs Division One tomorrow, Crooklands Casuals welcome sixth-placed Stoneclough as they look to build on the five-point gap between themselves and the bottom-two.

GSK Ulverston Rangers are in action as well, in the Presidents Cup, as they make the trip to bottom side Mill Hill St Peters.

There is another derby in Division Two, as the bottom two sides go head-to-head at Rampside Road.

Second-bottom Furness Cavaliers have a four-point advantage over visitors Furness Rovers, having played a game fewer, and go into the game buoyed by a 4-2 win against Tempest United reserves last weekend.

Kyle Delves scored all four as Cavs built on a 0-0 draw against Croston Sports a weekend earlier.

Rovers are without a win in three games, their last success coming at home to Thornton Cleveleys reserves in mid-January.