Gateshead boss hopeful over Thorman

Gateshead boss Chris Hood is hopeful half-back Neil Thorman will be fit for tonight’s televised clash with Sheffield.

Hood is already without Kevin Neighbour (knee) with club medical staff assessing the extent of Thorman’s injury, although he has been named in the squad.

Thunder find themselves bottom of the Championship table and without a win this season following three defeats and a draw in their opening four matches.

Hood said: “I’m not going to keep asking and looking for a response from the players – what we don’t want is a season full of responses, because it means we’ll always be battling setbacks.

“We’re bottom of the league because of just one thing – ourselves.

“We’ve got ourselves to blame for where we are and we need to go out and do something about that.

“You can be as good as you want when talking about what you are going to do, but then you have to go and do it.

“We fell below the required standards on Friday against Featherstone and we were punished for that, but now we have to raise that level.

“They know what’s needed, but now is not the time to admit where we went wrong in the past, it is the time to get it right in the present.”