YORK City Knights are set to play a match between themselves tomorrow night after yesterday's pre-season clash with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats was called off.

That match went the same way as the friendly the previous week at home to Oldham Roughyeds - the Huntington Stadium pitch deemed frozen on both occasions after late morning inspections - to leave the Knights without a single warm-up clash before the start to the season next week.

The Knights tried to rearrange the Wakefield match for tonight but that proved a no-go as the Wildcats are playing Leeds on Thursday, so the club have been exploring the option of bringing in players to provide enough for a 13-a-side game.

Coach Paul Broadbent said: "We've been trying to fetch a few more numbers down to training tomorrow night with a view to getting a training match on.

"It wouldn't necessarily be full contact but we'd want it to be a real good run through of 13 on 13.

"That's as good as we're going to get. We don't want to be playing a full contact game tomorrow because if we pick up bumps and bruises it might affect our plans for next week (when the season starts at home to Hull KR)."

As for yesterday's postponement, Broadbent said: "We don't seem to be getting much luck. We really needed a run-out but there's not a lot we can do.

"The pitch was apparently looking to be thawing out, but the referee decided to call it off. It was his decision.

"We really wanted to play and in my mind it would have possibly been playable but when the referee's made his decision you've got to go with it.

"He can't risk the safety of the players as if a player gets injured through the ground being too hard then it's his liability."

Knights chief executive Steve Ferres said the decision by York official Stuart Evans to deem the pitch unplayable was correct.

"When I inspected it at 11.30am it was not playable," he said. "At 2pm it was nearer playable and at 3pm it was nearer still, but maybe still not playable.

"There's not a lot that can be done and it was the right decision. There's no qualms from us."

Ferres also refused to criticise the decision by league chiefs to start the season in January.

"You can't predict what the weather's going to be like," he said.

"I would have preferred to start a bit later in the year but you go with what's given and moaning and groaning about it won't change anything. The decision was taken to start now and, whether it was right or wrong, it's a made decision and we've got to get on with the job."

He added: "We've lost out on two revenues that we budgeted for, so we just hope the people of York get behind the team next week when we play Hull KR. The fact it will now be the Knights' first-ever game makes it that bit bigger."

Make sure to get Wednesday's Evening Press for an eight-page preview to the Knights' historic first campaign

Updated: 12:59 Monday, January 13, 2003