Huddersfield Giants paying price for being 'physically underdone', says Jim Lenihan
Huddersfield Giants head coach Jim Lenihan says his side are paying the price for being physically undercooked and has warned it could take a full pre-season before that gap is closed.
The Australian was appointed as Luke Robinson's permanent successor last month but is still waiting for his first win after a fourth straight defeat at St Helens on Sunday.
Huddersfield conceded four tries in the final quarter, prompting Lenihan to highlight the physical challenge facing Super League's basement team as they attempt to catch up with their rivals.
"We're still probably a little bit physically underdone compared to most other sides," he said. "It's a big shift and a big push to be doing this in season.
"We probably haven't trained hard enough for long enough this year. We're putting on extra sessions during the week and are probably coming into games fatigued. Since I came in, our loads have increased a lot.
"Our numbers are increasing, which is good. We're probably training where the better Super League sides are but that comes at a cost. At the moment, we're fatigued going into games.
"We might have thought we were working hard before; now we are training at a more appropriate level.
"We're probably not really going to get across it physically until we get a pre-season but the boys are working harder, they're buying into what they're doing and can see that they can make change. Now it's about marching on and staying consistent."
Huddersfield have lost 13 games either side of their only two wins against Wigan Warriors and York Knights, including their last eight. They have conceded at least 36 points in each of Lenihan's four matches in charge.
However, the 53-year-old believes there are signs his methods are beginning to take hold despite the results.
"I know the end result is a bit different but I thought we actually took another step forward in where we're going," he said following the 38-6 loss to St Helens.
"We were taking on a very good side with a good pack. We worked hard at working over their middles and trying to put a bit of pressure on them.
"We let in a couple of easy tries early but we competed, scrambled hard, challenged ourselves and worked hard to be in the contest.
"We created a lot of fatigue in them and put them under some pressure. We put a bit of pride in ourselves about doing that to someone else. We're creating a weakness in another team and aren't just out there going through a game.
"There are some things we ticked off that we're working towards. There are a lot of things we still need to keep getting better at but we're starting to shift a little bit with our thinking and starting to understand that we can push other teams around, too."