Warrington Wolves v York Knights: Mixed emotions for Mark Applegarth as finish line comes into view
Mark Applegarth admits York Knights would have gladly accepted their current points tally at the start of the season – but he has stressed that now is not the time to stand still in their bid to establish themselves in Super League.
The Knights sit 10th on 14 points with five rounds remaining, representing a solid return for a club taking their first steps at the top level.
But while Applegarth is content with York's position after a challenging introduction to Super League, there is underlying frustration about the mistakes that have prevented them from making more of their progress.
"If someone had said to me at the start of the year, you can finish between 14 and 20 points, you'd have snapped their hand off at that, knowing what we didn't know then," explained the Knights boss.
"We're also pretty filthy that we have let some games slip but like anything in life, you've got to be willing to fail before you succeed. If there's one thing that I'll give massive raps to our group for, it's that we've never let one of those failures define the season for us.
"It would have been quite easy for a few after that Wigan thumping to go into our shell but we've done the opposite. We've used that to rally us."
York won three games in a row following their 72-20 drubbing by the Warriors and have since beaten St Helens to underline their ability to respond to setbacks.
Now Applegarth wants the Knights to make sure those lessons translate into further progress.
"We all say we want to be competing at the right end of the table but it's one thing saying it and one thing doing it," he added.
"You've got to live that experience. You've got to go through the highs and the lows, make mistakes, succeed and get that experience.
"Look at where you're strong, look at where you're weak, look at whether it's something we can fix internally or something we need to recruit externally on and then go at it again next year and hope you've put strength where you need it and then get after it. That's what life's about, isn't it?
"Each day, each week, each year you want to be getting better. You never want to stand still.
"We're going to use these next five weeks to build on what we've been doing and put into practice some of these pretty harsh lessons that we're getting."
York pushed title hopefuls Leigh Leopards close last time out but the tests keep coming for Applegarth's side.
After travelling to Warrington Wolves on Thursday, the Knights face Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity to round off a run of fixtures against top-six opposition.
The challenges ahead offer another chance for York to measure their progress.
"We're looking forward to it," said Applegarth, whose side finish the campaign with matches against Catalans Dragons and Bradford Bulls.
"We're in a block of four games that are real tests for us and benchmarks to see where we're at.
"We can't wait to get stuck in over there on Thursday night."