"I DON'T believe in that kind of nonsense."

So declared head coach James Ford on whether the omens were bad for York City Knights' potentially season-defining clash with Whitehaven on Sunday.

A win or draw at Bootham Crescent will give the Knights the Betfred League One crown after a remarkable campaign.

However, the Cumbrians are one of only two sides to have beaten the table-toppers this year and they were, of course, the team that killed York's 2017 promotion hopes in that epic play-off semi-final at the Recre which lasted a world record 26 minutes of golden-point extra time.

The Knights, since being re-formed in 2002, have also only ever enjoyed one league win over Whitehaven from seven meetings, including last year's play-off - and that came some 12 years ago.

Asked if those were worrying omens heading into this weekend, Ford said: "As I've said numerous times, I don't believe in that kind of nonsense.

"Whitehaven were better than us at their place this year. We did some daft things and ended up on the wrong end of a 14-4 penalty count, and that added to the challenge which we weren't quite good enough to overcome.

"This is a completely different game.

"They're a quality side with quality individuals in it. We're just going to focus on us playing to our potential and doing the things that we've done all season that have seen us win 23 out of 25 league games so far."

While a Whitehaven win will almost certainly hand Bradford Bulls the sole automatic promotion spot and dump York into the play-offs, a Knights victory will in turn likely end Haven's season, with Oldham big favourites to win at London Skolars and replace the Cumbrians in the top five on points-difference.

Asked if his team "owed Whitehaven one", especially after last season's finale, Ford said: "Not at all.

"It was a fantastic game last year. It would have been marvellous to overcome them and challenge for promotion, especially bearing in mind where we started the season and how we started.

"It was not to be and Whitehaven were better on the day.

"But sometimes you learn and grow from a negative more so than from something positive. We've taken a lot from that as a group and as a club.

"We're just going to focus on getting our preparation right and making sure our performance is good as it can be."

Asked if there was a different pressure on his side now the title is so close, Ford said: "I've not thought about anything other than Sunday's game.

"I've had a look at Whitehaven's last few games and planned our training around that. That's as far as we're looking - getting our preparation right this week. If you prepare right, it generally leads to a good performance. That's our focus."

Asked if they would be doing anything differently this week given what is at stake, Ford added: "We're going to do what we've done all season.

"There's no pressure on us whatsoever. We're focusing on improving and getting our prep right and, when the game comes, getting focused on the little things that have a big influence on a performance and on the outcome."