Leeds coach Brian McDermott has admitted he is concerned over his side’s precarious situation on the Super League table after setting an unwanted club record of a seventh straight loss for the first time in the competition’s history.
The reigning champions were hammered 46-8 at Wigan on Thursday, meaning they stay just a point above ninth-placed Catalans and the Qualifiers places.
And McDermott insisted his side need to stop the rot sooner, rather than later.
“I could give you some clichés and say that there is still some life in us and that we are not done yet and that would be true, but if you are asking me ‘am I concerned?’ – I am for sure,” he said. “We have lost seven on the bounce and we can’t keep doing that.”
McDermott welcomed back big names like Richie Myler and Ryan Hall for the game – and he insisted that despite still having a number of other players out injured, the team he named was good enough to get a result.
“The most disappointing thing is how much it wasn’t a contest,” he said.
“The scoreline hurts, it could have been a 30-odd scoreline but it was 40-odd and that hurts. For too many patches of the game, it wasn’t a contest.
“It is not an easy game to sum up. We conceded way too many tries and it was too easy for Wigan in the first half.
“We have still got some blokes who are learning harsh lessons that are probably not ready for it week in, week out, but that team was certainly good enough to compete and beat Wigan.”
