Toulouse Olympique v Bradford Bulls: Kurt Haggerty positive despite major injury crisis
Kurt Haggerty has challenged Bradford Bulls to claw their way out of the trenches in the final three rounds.
The Bulls face a fight to avoid the wooden spoon after dropping to the foot of Super League, a task made all the more difficult by a major injury crisis.
Haggerty has been left with just 16 fit first-team players for tonight's away clash with Toulouse Olympique, forcing him to turn to untested youngsters in a 19-man squad.
The Bradford boss insists there can be no hint of a victim mentality during the closing weeks.
"We've got to keep going, we've got to keep scrapping," he said.
"We can't feel sorry for ourselves because if we feel sorry for ourselves, we'll lose all three games.
"But if we keep clawing our way out of the trenches, we will get some incremental gains next week with some players back.
"We cannot feel sorry for ourselves. We've still got enough quality out there to compete. Hopefully if we compete for long enough, we can still win games."
Bradford have won just once in 11 matches, losing their last six.
Fixtures against fellow strugglers Castleford Tigers and York Knights offer opportunities for points but Haggerty must find a way to quickly lift his side following last week's 62-10 drubbing by Leigh Leopards.
"It was a really tough and brutal review with a lot of honest conversations," he said.
"We've worked on some things we need to fix from that game. There have been a lot of tough conversations and intensity in practice with the numbers we have out there.
"I'm hoping for a response, especially from that second half."
The heavily depleted Bulls face another tough assignment this weekend against a team fresh from a comprehensive win at Hull KR.
Haggerty is well aware of the dangers posed by Toulouse.
"They were very good against Hull KR," he said. "They are very good in the cycle. Their backfield is very strong so we've got to be good with our kick chase and yardage defence.
"They play some pretty good rugby so if you have any plays off, they'll catch you out. If you're not physically on, they'll come over the top of you. They're a good team."