KEIRON Cunningham has laid down the gauntlet to his team following their loss to Leeds last week.
He says Saints are smarting from the defeat and owe the fans and themselves a performance against Huddersfield on Friday.
“We didn’t come out of the gates quick enough at all,” Keiron said. “We can’t make any excuses for our start to the game but we had chances to ‘restart’ a number of times as Leeds didn’t start great and dropped the ball a lot.
“It took until about 17 minutes before we got into any kind of flowing ball movement and kick and chase. We didn’t get into the grind or the arm wrestle until it was 18-0 and against any side it is difficult to get that back.
“It’s even harder when it is Leeds and they are at the top of the ladder.
“We did the same against them last time out. We had a period when it was exciting and tried to come back but we shouldn’t have been in that situation.
“We have learnt a lot from that and have done some soul searching over the weekend. We had a tough video session and trained hard on Monday. The boys looked sharp and on the money.
“There’s no point raking over old ground now as that doesn’t change anything. I was disappointed and emotional after the game and wanted something more than I got.
“It doesn’t matter what I say to the players now, or the press, or anyone, about how bad they played. No one will feel more down than the players themselves.
“As a player nothing anyone could say would make me feel any worse about myself after a performance like that. The challenge is there now, the gauntlet is laid and they have to respond.”
Saints face Huddersfield this Friday with Adam Quinlan set to make his debut at fullback.
The 22-year-old arrived on Monday and immediately trained with his new teammates.
“It is a big game this week and the Giants will be coming to play. I’d like to think we aren’t a bad side ourselves though despite what happened on Friday. I am more than confident if we turn up that we will be a tough side to beat.
“We have some bumps and bruises in the camp but we are quite healthy now with the players we have missing. Adam will come in too for his debut.
“He trained with us on Monday straight off the plane and was insistent on that. He has fitted in well and is a natural fullback.”
Tickets for Friday’s game are now on sale from the Ticket Office at Langtree Park, by calling 01744 455 052 or online here.
