Widnes Vikings head coach John Kear says his players must learn to prepare better for games mentally if they want to succeed in the Betfred Championship this season.
The Vikings were unable to back up Monday night’s victory over Halifax Panthers as Sheffield Eagles ran in seven tries at Olympic Legacy Park.
Scores either side of half-time from Ryan Ince and Danny Craven gave the Vikings hope, but the Eagles grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck inside the final quarter to pick up the two competition points.
Speaking post-match, Kear gave an honest assessment of his side’s display in South Yorkshire.
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“I think we were very poor, that’s the top and bottom of it,” he said.
“And I think the reason we’re very poor is because we lack the ability to consistently prepare for top quality performances week in, week out.
“We’ve had four good performances, and because of that, we seemed to think we could turn up at a very good team and were just going to win. It doesn’t work like that in rugby league.
“You’ve got to be tough, you’ve got to be prepared to work hard and you’ve got to carry the ball hard and defend hard, all of which we didn’t do today.
“Today was just untidy, loose and sloppy, and that reflects the mental preparation.
“We really have got some work to do, not just on the field. We’ve got some work to do as a team to become consistent in how we prepare for games.”
Sunday’s result leaves the Vikings sixth in the Betfred Championship table after three from their opening five fixtures.
Betfred Challenge Cup action is next on the horizon before a tough home game against promotion hopefuls Toulouse Olympique, and Kear says his players have plenty of work to do.
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“If you come to any game in the Championship hoping to win and not being prepared to work to win, you don’t win. That’s what I believe happened today,” he admitted.
“That’s part of being mentally tough, that you can cope with adversity, cope with a bit of difficulty and show resilience.
“I’ve complimented the resilience of the players in the first four weeks. When they do well, we’ll give them a pat on the back, but they haven’t done well today.”
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