KNIGHTS players were driven up the wall as their pre-season training programme scaled new heights, writes Peter Martini.

Boss Gary Thornton, very satisfied with how training has so far gone ahead of his first campaign as Knights boss, has been happy to throw the squad into unfamiliar surroundings to prevent boredom and “keep minds fresh”.

The first came this week as the players, having come through the proverbial “wall” in their fitness regimes, visited the Red Goat Climbing centre in Layerthorpe to tackle walls of a different kind, in an outing arranged by assistant-coach Mick Ramsden.

“We’re just keeping them fresh ahead of an important January when we have four (trial) matches,” said Thornton.

On Tuesday, the squad will attend Henry Wharton’s new boxing gym in York Road, Acomb, to have a training session with York’s former world title challenger, and next weekend they will be on a weekend’s camp near Ripon being put through their paces by Army physical training instructors.