ALAN KILSHAW is remaining upbeat as his Keighley Cougars side faces the challenge of high-flying North Wales Crusaders in their search for a first league win of the season.
It’s been a stalling start for Kilshaw since his appointment as Cougars coach at the end of March, with just three games played since then, the last of which was the heavy home defeat to Workington on May 11th.
But going up against one of the competition’s front-runners is a challenge he is looking forward to.
Kilshaw said: “We’ve got to be excited for that. We’ve got to put (the Workington game) behind us, learn from it and move on. We’ve got to enjoy the week and prepare for it. It will be good to get some consecutive games and that next block (of fixtures) gives us that, then the Wembley break and a decent run of games.
“I didn’t see it (the Workington defeat) coming. We’d had three weeks off and you can allow some of that rustiness and a few of the errors, but not 13 errors overall and seven penalties conceded.”
He made some bold selection decisions in that match, leaving out the likes of Brandon Pickersgill, Jack Miller and Billy Walkley as he tries to find the winning combinations.
Kilshaw added: “We’re trying to search for the right formula and the right combination, and some guys deserved to play off the way they had trained.
“We’ve lost six or seven games now so we’re looking for the right combination. It’s hard at the moment because we’re not playing week in, week out, and I’m trying to see everyone and seeing how they deal with games, and being under pressure and fatigue.
“As a group, we’ve got to be tougher mentally. The players need to take some ownership and accountability. I’ll look at myself and the staff will. We’re not going to give ourselves a chance by making 13 errors. That’s a team thing, not individuals.”
Keighley face North Wales and Newcastle before the Challenge Cup final weekend, and then have games on consecutive weekends against Rochdale and Swinton.
