Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam has revealed the club’s plans for their upcoming week off, and how they aim to utilise the period as best they can ahead of a challenging run of fixtures.
The Leopards take on Catalans Dragons this weekend, before they endure a 14-day break due to the Challenge Cup semi-finals.
Leigh exited that competition in the quarters, having been beaten by Warrington Wolves. As a result, they now have a few extra days to prepare for what is another difficult run of games.
Following the break, they return to action against Hull KR, and then the week after the other Hull club, Hull FC, come to town.
The Leopards currently sit two points out of the top six, a position they are heavily expected to finish come the end of the season, however injuries have decimated the squad for most of the year so far.
With players coming back and their injury luck seemingly turning for the better, Lam’s side can now continue to build on an up-turn in form that has seen them win their last two matches.
Speaking to the press ahead of their away trip to Perpignan, the boss revealed what this weekend looks like for the club, and what their plans are for travelling to and from France.
He said: “We’ve got a really early start [Thursday]. The mentality is to get there as soon as we can and recover.
“We’ve got an opportunity hopefully to meet our fans over there when we train. That’s something that we do every year because we adore them.
“They’re a big part of our success and a big part of the club. We’ll play a part in that as well, but the focus will be on that 80 minutes on Saturday at 7:00pm.”
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How Leigh Leopards will use Challenge Cup break ahead of “tough” period
Lam revealed there will be no time for any extra R&R in the French sunlight, with the club travelling back home the next day before a busy two weeks of training to prepare for that clash with the Robins.
“We’re coming back the next day,” said the Leigh boss. “We need to train.
“We’ve got that week [off] there, we’ve got a few players coming back this week and we need to get repetitions with them.
“We haven’t really had our strongest team on at any stage, so with more players coming back, we’ll work hard on that week off and get prepped for the week later, which will be Hull KR here at home.
“A really tough period coming up, but an opportunity, I think, for us to get some repetitions in and to get better and grow as a team.”
Before they think about the 14-day break however, Leigh need to get through a very tough Catalans side, who have been very solid when playing at home this season.
A win and results going their way would see the Leopards climb into those play-off spots, something that seemed miles away just a month ago with Leigh sat in the bottom two spots in the table.
“It’s so crucial for us that we play well and we get close to that top six,” Lam said previewing the game.
“We’re only a win away from that and after everything that’s happened, to be in this position so early in the season as well, I’m grateful that we’ve hung in there and found a way to win at times, albeit not pretty, but it’s certainly [due to] a lot of resilience.”
