Cougars boss Barry Eaton has pledged to battle right to the bitter end no matter what the outcome of his side’s Championship survival bid.

Keighley are faced with an uphill task despite their hard-fought win against Toulouse last week after Dewsbury beat Batley to maintain a nine-point gap between the teams.

Only four games remain, starting with Sunday’s trip to Batley, and considering the magnitude of the task facing them, Eaton has called on his players to take the fight to their opponents.

“We’ve got to try and ensure Batley’s performance continues on from the one they put in at Dewsbury, which means we have to take the game to them,” he said.

“We just have to go out there, get straight at it and play with a high tempo and intensity.

“Dewsbury’s win makes it very difficult, and we’re probably relying on them losing at Whitehaven now if we’re going to overhaul both sides, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.

“But even if we were already dead and buried, we certainly wouldn’t be letting up. We owe it to ourselves to keep fighting right to the end.”

The Cougars have been boosted for the trip to Mount Pleasant by news that pack trio Greg Nicholson, Will Cartledge and Chris Baines will all play despite injuries suffered against Toulouse.

Nicholson is to soldier on with five stitches to an eye injury, Cartledge with three stitches to a gash on his head and Baines with a broken nose.

Despite being in the wars, Eaton is confident his forwards can stand up to Batley’s physical challenge.

“Our previous game against Batley was very different because it was a mudbath at Cougar Park, but one encouraging thing was the way we stood up to their pack,” he said.

“We did the same against Toulouse and they are two of the most physical packs in the league.

“Our forwards have really stepped up this year and, certainly with the ball, we’ve never been knocked about by anyone.”