New boss Rick Stone believes his Giants must toughen up mentally if they are to be a big success in the Middle 8s.
Huddersfield finished bottom of the regular Super League campaign as a result of Saturday’s 34-30 defeat at second-placed Warrington Wolves and are now bracing themselves for a battle to avoid relegation in the end-of-season shake-up.
Stone was encouraged with a lot of what he saw at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, with the Giants’ fate not sealed until a 76th-minute Daryl Clark try.
But he has warned his players that if they continue to show a soft mental under-belly, the pressure could mount considerably.
“We took some significant steps forward this weekend,” said Stone.
“We handled the ball well and gave ourselves a very good chance against one of the top four sides. That’s encouraging.
“But I still think we’re mentally fragile, and that we need to improve our concentration and defensive resolve.
“Everyone keeps telling me that we’re too good to be a bottom-of-the-table team, but this team still keeps finding ways to lose footy games.
“And while ever this problem of mis-managing games continues, we’ll continue to make things difficult for ourselves, and that could put us under even more pressure in the Middle 8s.
“The key is for everyone to make sure this doesn’t happen.”
