‘There is no magic wand’ - Halifax Panthers need to 'work hard' and 'stick together' to stop losing run against Doncaster

Fax entertain Doncaster at The Shay on Sunday, May 26 (kick off 3pm) searching for a first Championship victory since beating Batley Bulldogs 18-10 in early April.

Defeats against Widnes, Sheffield, Swinton, Featherstone and York, 40-18 last weekend, have followed, leaving the Panthers second bottom in the table.

And although there is no “magic wand” for Finn to use, Halifax’s head coach insists everyone at the club needs to “stick together.”

He told the Courier: “If I had some magic fairy dust it would be a confidence one. It rattles you a little bit does a run like this. It’s not easy to get back and it affects how you play and makes you play with a bit more trepidation than you would normally.

“But there is no magic wand and there is only one way out of it. It’s about hard work and sticking together.

“We’re going to have to earn it the old fashioned way and I keep saying it to everyone but when we do turn it around it will be worthwhile. And it will be a good feeling because we will have come from a tough place to do it.”

The Panthers’ latest defeat at York, who leapfrogged them in the table, was seen by a travelling cohort of fans who witnessed “effort” from the side.

Finn said: “We always want and need the fans’ support. The ones that travelled to York saw the effort that went into the game. The lads aren’t giving up or not trying.

“It’s a group of lads doing it tough at the minute and not one of them has shirked it. They are all putting their hand up to have a go and try and turn it around.”

Asked if he felt nothing was going his side’s way during this poor run, Finn responded:

“You do feel a little bit like that at times. But you can only control what you can control. That is what we are trying to do best. That is all we can do but we can be better at what we are doing to give ourselves a chance to win games.

“It’s not all excuses and feeling sorry for ourselves, there are reasons out there. It is plain for everyone to see. You only need to look at the squad list and see who is not playing to see what our issues are.

“But we still have enough quality out there to go and compete and give ourselves a chance in games.”

Sunday’s visitors have made a bright start to the season following promotion from League 1. They recorded a thumping 26-0 win over Batley Bulldogs last weekend for a fourth victory in their first eight Championship games. The four games they have lost have come against the sides currently occupying the top four - Wakefield, Widnes, Sheffield and Featherstone.

On the prospect of facing Doncaster, Finn said:

“They are doing well. They are a good group which has been around for a while but they have added in some quality in some ex-Super League players.

“They have got some players which are a handful without a doubt.

"They are confident after winning a few games so they are going to be tough to beat.”