Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith went down in his first game against Salford Red Devils last weekend.
A 23-8 defeat left the Rhinos just three points ahead of bottom side Toulouse Olympique with another big clash at the bottom of the table set for tomorrow night when Leeds host Wakefield Trinity.
But, Smith knows his side need to be better to the one that flailed against Salford – and wants one major change.
“We need to be a lot better on our edge defence, we had some real deficiencies there especially in the opening passage of the game,” Smith said.
We need patience on the end of our attacks and we overplayed when the game could have been closer.”
Despite losing his first game in charge, the former Bradford Bulls boss doesn’t think his opinion of the job in hand has changed.
“I knew it was a huge job before I was offered it – it’s always been a huge job for anyone in the seat with big expectations.
“It’s different for every coach at different times, so understanding that has been something I’ve been working on.
“But, the players are buying into it – the focus and execution at training has been a good standard.”
Smith also confirmed that Tom Holroyd will play for Bradford Bulls this weekend on his comeback from an ankle injury.
“He will be playing at Bradford this weekend; he’s had a lengthy break from the game after the long-term injury.
“He got some work done in the reserves last week but we left it at 30 minutes to step it up this week.”