DEWSBURY RAMS coach Paul March has told his players not to let a narrow first league defeat of the season derail what has been a promising start to life in the new-look second tier.
The FLAIR Stadium side entered the merged division having stabilised following a difficult 2024 – which ended in relegation from the old-style Championship – via a fourth-placed League One finish last year.
That was March’s first full season at the helm of his hometown club, and he went into the second having tweaked his squad under the usual financial constraints.
Wins at Hunslet and Newcastle either side of success at home to Keighley provided a bright start in the league, so March was disappointed by the 16-14 home loss to Goole, who claimed a clinching 70th-minute try through former Hull FC back Callum Shaw.
Having had a bye round, his side return to action at home to Barrow on Sunday, and he says there is every reason to be positive.
“Barrow are a strong side, but we’ve made a decent start in a tough division, with three wins from four and a loss in a match which could have gone our way,” he insisted.
“We started too slowly, but got back into it, and I don’t think we got the rub of the green in certain areas.”
March felt a second-half yellow card for a high tackle by seasoned Goole secondrow Brett Ferres, once his teammate at Wakefield, might have been seen as a red by some referees.
“It’s down to interpretation, but to me, there was direct contact,” he added.
“It was probably a bit of a turning point in the match, but we can’t change the outcome.
“We can’t let the defeat derail us either, and it shouldn’t do, because we created enough opportunities to have won it, and we need to make sure are more clinical with them.”
March hopes on-loan Bradford backrow Jacob Bateman will soon be back from injury.