FEATHERSTONE ROVERS coach Paul Cooke says he and his players have to take criticism of their performances on the chin – and keep working hard to turn their season around.
The Millennium Stadium side suffered a fourth league loss running in going down 48-24 at home to Bradford, dropping to second-bottom as a result.
It means Cooke will take his side to Oldham on Sunday with just two points in the tank and still seeking a first Championship win since stepping up from assistant to replace James Ford at the start of March.
The former Super League star and Doncaster player-coach hopes to have some players back from injury to boost his selection options, but has warned that without a sharp improvement in defending, wins will remain hard to come by.
“We were better in parts against Bradford than we were against Halifax (who won 38-12 at The Shay), but we were still way off where we need to be,” pointed out the 43-year-old.
“We have had players out, some of them in key positions, and it will be good to start getting them back, but that doesn’t mean things will automatically get better, because we are conceding far too many points.
“It’s too easy to score against us, and until we sort that out, we will find wins hard to come by.
“Fans have been asking questions, and rightly so, and we have to ask questions of ourselves and find some answers.
“In training, we are doing the right things and saying the right things, but we aren’t coming up with the right decisions out on that field.”
Cooke continued: “We are in a bit of hole, and we have to find a way out of it, and string some wins together.
“It’s down to us as a group to stick together, buy into what we are trying to do, work hard for each other and be better and smarter.”
