YORK KNIGHTS coach Mark Applegarth says living with pressure should be no problem for the progressive club who have made no secret of their Super League ambitions.
The former Wakefield chief and ex-York player returned to the Minster City in June to take the team reins from Andrew Henderson, who became head of operations and development.
Part of Henderson’s brief is to set up an Academy – another sign of the Knights’ long-term thinking – while Applegarth led a charge to last season’s play-off semi-finals.
While that raised expectations ahead of the current campaign, York’s sluggish start – defeats in each of their first three league matches (against Oldham Toulouse and Halifax) – raised a few eyebrows from onlookers anticipating a stronger start.
The sequence was finally snapped when the Knights won 23-10 at Batley, where loose-forward Jordan Thompson made his 100th club appearance, adding to an 1895 Cup triumph over Halifax earlier this month which set up Sunday’s home quarter-final with Widnes.
“One of the things I really like about the Championship is that you have to be on it every single week,” said Applegarth.
“If you aren’t, for whatever reason, you’ll get burned.
“We got a lot of praise last season, and we played well in some games, but ultimately we didn’t win anything, and winning is what it’s all about.
“I think the competition has improved from last year, and we have to improve as well.
“We feel we have a squad capable of doing something, but there are plenty of other teams thinking exactly the same thing, and we need to hit the standards we want on a regular basis.”
Applegarth accepts there are high expectations of York, but insisted: “Pressure is what you make it. You either embrace it or shy away from it.
“We want to be involved in big games as often as we can, and we want to progress as a club, so we have to deal with pressure.”
Applegarth has lost prop Mitch Clark to a pectoral injury.