Cougars have completed another signing hat-trick ahead of their final game of the Championship campaign.

Dan Belcher, James Hutchinson and Will Cartledge have all committed for a further year, taking the number of players signed on for next season to 11.

The news came as a welcome boost for coach Barry Eaton after his side were consigned to bottom spot with defeat against Whitehaven last week.

Keighley complete their league campaign at home against Widnes on Sunday (3pm) after which plans for the future will quickly begin to gather speed.

“I’m delighted to get three more on board,” said Eaton.

“Dan Belcher will finish the season injured but he started the year playing superbly before suffering hamstring and ankle problems.

“He came back and was outstanding before injuring the AC joint in his shoulder. He’s a player I expect to be a real crowd favourite next year.

“James Hutchinson came back to the club this year after spending time away in the RAF but has now made the left wing spot his own.

“Our previous wingers have all been smaller and more agile but he’s tall, strong and direct so he gives us something different.

“Getting Will Cartledge on board is great as well because he’s a model professional and someone we nearly lost due to his work commitments.

“He had a real disappointment in the build-up to our recent game against Featherstone when his father died, so that’s been tough.

“He has managed to sort out his work commitments for at least a year and doesn’t want to end his Cougars career on a low after relegation.”

Keighley could wrap up several more signatures tomorrow, with James Haythornthwaite, Tom Shel-drake, Tom Burton, Richard Jones, Craig Moss and Sam Crowther all close to agreeing terms.

And the club are hopeful that Danny Jones will re-sign, though the scrum half is unlikely to make his decision until after a holiday following the Widnes game.

But Carl Hughes and Jonny Presley both look likely to leave, with Eaton claiming the club are unable to meet their financial demands.

Meanwhile, the Cougars chief is determined to sign off in style on Sunday.

Following their agonising defeat against Whitehaven, Eaton wants his players to enjoy the visit of Widnes, while providing the fans with something to be proud of.

He said: “One thing I’ve always said is, if you get the effort, commitment and the right attitude, you will get a good bit of enjoyment out of it.

“Mistakes will happen and things won’t always go right but it’s important to get those things sorted.

“We were thoroughly disappointed to play the way we did in the first half against Whitehaven when we fell 28-4 behind.

“We were completely out-enth-used but we’ve put that to bed now and we want to give our all on Sunday. It’s important to give the fans a thoroughly committed performance. I’m not saying commitment was lacking last week but we did a lot of things we wouldn’t normally do.”

Eaton also believes his side must learn to accept adversity within games.

Cougars have received a raw deal from referees in recent weeks, with a number of controversial calls going against them in crucial games against Featherstone, Dewsbury and Whitehaven.

“I’m going to stress again, there were two or three tries that weren’t tries against Whitehaven,” he said.

“The players are really disappointed with how frequently it’s happening to us but maybe we have responded to bad calls in the wrong way.

“We’ve talked about controlling what we can control, in terms of discipline, ball control and defence and that will give us a good chance of getting the result.”