Matt Diskin insists that Sunday evening’s trip to rivals Halifax is not make or break for Batley’s Qualifiers hopes.
A win at the Shay would see the visitors move to within two points of fifth-placed Fax, cutting the gap on the top four.
However, defeat would see their hosts open up a six-point gap as Halifax look for their second Qualifiers finish in three years.
Diskin believes that a win would not end Batley’s own hopes of reaching the Middle 8’s for consecutive seasons.
“It’s a big game for us, however there are still 11 or 12 games left so I don’t think it’s make or break for us,” said Diskin. “Our confidence will certainly go up if we get a couple of wins. Sometimes it’s hard to see past the negatives, especially over the Easter period where we have been a little bit below par.
“We’ve been a little bit soft in contact but we’re working hard in training to address that. We aim to win every game we compete in. This week is no different.”
Batley won 24-6 when the sides met in round 2 of the Championship back in early February at Mount Pleasant.
However, despite admitting his side want to right the wrongs of that game, Fax coach Richard Marshall insists that winning would be more important to Batley as leaders of the chasing pack than Halifax.
He said: “In the context of the league table it is [a big game]. We played Batley earlier on in the year and we weren’t at our best. Batley completed dominated us in that game so we’re looking to right that. Both teams have changed significantly since then. We hope our fans turn up and support us like they did last week up in Whitehaven, we had a great support up there.
“That probably adds a bit more pressure to them in what they’re doing. A win would see them back in contention and a loss would see them pushed further down. That’s for them to worry and be concerned about. We’re in a slightly different spot than that in that we’re trying to maintain our confidence and the way we’re playing. If we do that we feel we’ll have enough to win and create a bit of a gap.”
