The senior players at Hull FC believe the side are “not far off” where they want to be, despite being sat 13th in the table.
The Black and Whites travel to Huddersfield Giants tonight, in a bottom-of-the-table clash. A win would put them six points adrift of bottom, but a loss would see the gap reduce to just two.
However, with the club winless in their last six games, victory over the current wooden spooners, who themselves won last week, will be much more difficult than it looks on paper.
That being said, the conversations within the FC camp remain positive, with Andy Last providing an insight into what has been said in some of the meetings this week.
After defeat in the Hull derby, a “very low” 24 hours followed, with the coach saying: “The review was a difficult one because the mood in camp was down.
“We invested a lot emotionally and mentally into the game and physically invested a great deal. We gave them some feedback on areas that they need to improve and areas that we did exceptionally well.
“It’s always difficult after a derby, but the response from the guys this week on Monday, [they] trained well and the spirit today was excellent.”
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Despite those six losses in a row, Last has revealed that the senior players within the squad have taken responsibility, and say that if you break the games down, the Black and Whites are “not far off” when it comes to mixing with the top sides.
He revealed: “Some senior players have taken some responsibility this week. They’ve spoken well in the team review and just said we’re not far off. You look at the games, and we’ve spoken about it in the last five weeks – we’ve ran Hull KR close twice, we’ve run Wigan close, and then Leigh in that second half. There was an opportunity there where we had some momentum and a couple of passes hit the mark.
“We could be sat here in really, really good form and I think that’s been the biggest positive from the group. They’ve taken a lot of confidence from taking those teams that are in form at the top end of the table very, very close.
“We need to make sure that we perform to the best of our ability against Huddersfield, who have had an upturn in form themselves.”
Shock St Helens loss, Leigh to beat Wigan and bottom of the table scrap – Click here to watch the Serious About Rugby League Predictions Show!
Hull FC boss issues mixed injury news
One Hull youngster, Callum Kemp, will miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury. Last revealed that the promising spine player will need “four to five months” to recover, and should be able to return at the start of pre-season.
In more positive news, Sam Lisone is expected to return in the next couple of weeks, as is Arthur Romano.
Veteran forward Ligi Sao, who has been struggling with a shoulder issue, is at least another three weeks away, and could be more depending on the recovery and strengthening process.
