Ahead of Friday’s Betfred Championship match against Sheffield Eagles, half-back Liam Harris spoke on Tuesday night at training about how the team will react to Sunday’s defeat to Leigh Centurions and how they will be working to put things right.
“First of all, I want to start by thanking all our fans for backing us on Sunday,” he began. “I thought they were outstanding, they didn’t stop singing and we embarrassed them. We embarrassed ourselves and the way they handled the situation was far better than we did so, on behalf of all the players, I want to say thank you to them guys who turned out like always.”
Acknowledging that the performance was far below the standards set at the Knights, Harris admitted that there would be some challenging conversations throughout the group this week, building into the first of our final three matches ahead of the Play-Offs.
“It’s important we address it and that we understand where it went wrong. It’s totally unacceptable to be a York City Knights player and dish out that kind of performance.
“Yeah, we’re all hurting and embarrassed but, at the same time, I know this team and I know we’re looking forward to ripping into training this week and we’ll be having some tough conversations.
“We’ll have them, then we will get out on the field and start to put things right. It’s important we address it but it’s also important we don’t dwell on it and beat ourselves up too much because Friday night is coming up quickly.
“It’s an important game building towards the Play-Offs and we want to build some momentum going into them. Getting on the field tonight will be good for us, getting things out there that need to be said and then moving past it.”
While Friday night gives the players a five-day turnaround rather than the usual seven between games, the former Hull FC and Hull KR half-back shared that he is eager to get back onto the pitch to deliver a response for the club, the fans and his Head Coach.
“Usually I’d say you’re probably a bit sore with a short turnaround but, at the minute, I think physically things go out of the window and it’s a mental thing.
“There’s some bruised egos but I can’t wait for Friday. I honestly can’t wait to get out there against Sheffield to prove to the fans and Fordy that we do care. We need to show them what playing for this team means to us.
“I know what Fordy is like and he will be incredibly upset. He’ll have watched it four or five times to see what he could have done better but the truth is that he couldn’t have done anything better – this is on us, the players, and it’s on us to put it right as well.”
Tickets are available now for Friday’s match, priced at £20 for adults, £15 for concessions and FREE for under-16s. You can purchase yours in advance from yorkcityknights.com/tickets. Tickets will also be available on the day from the Ticket Office Booth within the Main Hub of the LNER Community Stadium.
