After the manner of the home defeat to Widnes, has one of your jobs this week been to lift the spirits of the squad?

It was a very disappointing defeat, there’s no doubt about that.

As a result, the energy levels on Monday morning were pretty low, because there was disappointment in each individual performance and the attitude towards it.

It’s certainly not very often I have to question the attitude of the players.

But we had a good talk about what went on and had a good look at some of the stuff that went on during the game.

The bottom line is that for us to be competitive and win things, it’s vital we’re prepared to work hard for each other. We know that if we’re the hardest-working team in the competition we’ll give ourselves an excellent chance.

Having said all that, how concerned are you with the start to the season you’ve made?

No-one wanted this, that’s for sure!

But it is what it is, and we’ve got to make sure we do something about it, not simply dwell on what’s gone on and feel sorry for ourselves.

The key for us is to make sure we don’t panic, both in terms of our recruitment, the injuries we’re suffering and the three defeats we’ve

had so far.

READ MORE:Jamie Ellis out for eight to 10 weeks, but Danny Brough could be back for Huddersfield Giants

Our search for new bodies remains as strong as ever – there’s no way at all we’re going to let-up on that front – but we know this particular task is getting even more difficult.

Easter’s fast approaching, and this is the time when clubs’ squads are tested to the full, so the last thing that’s on their minds right now is releasing any of their players.

But that doesn’t mean we’ll stop trying, even though we know that in the next few weeks we’ll start to get some of our injured senior players back and we’ll all see the real Huddersfield Giants again.

Hopefully, Danny Brough will be back for the Leeds game and then Eorl Crabtree, Joe Wardle and Kyle Wood will return in the next week or so.

We’re also looking at Craig Huby being fit for the Easter games, and it’s always a bonus to have fresh forwards available at that time of the year.

But would you say the last couple of months have been some of the most challenging you’ve experienced since you became head coach?

To be fair, I’d say that up to now it’s been pretty plain sailing for me.

Almost from the start, we’ve been at the top end of the competition and there’s been a lot more good news than bad.

And I think what’s made things even more of a challenge is that so much of our current problems, injury-wise, have been down to bad luck more than anything.

If the majority of the injuries had been down to what we were doing, or not doing, then we could take the responsibility for that and do something about it.

But apart from the odd injury – Joe Wardle being the most notable with his quad injury – none of them have been training-related injuries.

Huddersfield Giants v Leeds Rhinos at the John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield. 3 tries in a row for the Giants Joe Wardle's

Almost all of the others were impact and contact-related injuries - with Jamie Ellis’s shoulder problem being the latest – which is something you have no control over whatsoever as a coach.

We just hope that our run of bad luck on this front is now at an end.

What was also out of your control was the nature of Brett Ferres’s exit from the club for disciplinary reasons. He’s now obviously at Leeds, so what sort of reception can he expect from his former Giants teammates?

I personally couldn’t care less about that, to be honest.

We’ve all moved on from that now, and there are certainly bigger issues than this.

Tomorrow night is a game between two teams desperate for a win, and making sure it’s us is our sole focus. That’s the only thing that really

matters right now.

READ MORE: Leeds Rhinos star Brett Ferres braced for tough battle against former club Huddersfield Giants