Paul March wants Cougars to go as far as they can in the Challenge Cup this season – but not at the expense of promotion.

The Keighley player-coach is preparing his side for Sunday's third-round showdown at Barrow in rugby league’s most famous knockout competition.

They were the surprise package last year in reaching the quarter-finals before an understrength side lost heavily at Widnes.

March’s men subsequently faced a backlog of league fixtures to catch up on and it cost them dear as the club suffered relegation from the Championship.

Although Cougars are in two cup competitions this season – the new iPro Sport Cup, where they progressed to the second round with a 64-0 win over East Leeds last weekend – and the Labrokes Challenge Cup, it is the bread and butter of the league that matters most to them.

March said: “Getting to the quarter-finals last year was a great achievement, but on the other hand it was a massive distraction as well.

“It meant we had to play a certain amount of games within a relatively short spell and that really took its toll on the squad so, looking back, the success we had in the Challenge Cup probably cost us.

“It’s the greatest knockout competition in the world and everyone wants to play in it.

“Players want to face the bigger clubs, so in these earlier rounds you have to make sure you perform to get those big ties in the end.

“We want to get as far as we can but we can’t let it be a distraction as we have got bigger goals to achieve this year.”

March’s team, by his own admission, had a sluggish start to their pre-season campaign, losing their opening three friendlies before winning their final two and then thumping East Leeds last Sunday.

The three successive wins have set them up nicely for Sunday’s trip to League One rivals Barrow.

March added: “We’ve had a slow start in pre-season and looked at different combinations, but over the last three weeks I think we’ve been building up nicely.

“We’re just going about our business quietly at the moment and, having played Barrow in pre-season, we know what they’ve got to offer.

“I’m sure that we can lift our game by another 50 per cent from when we were up there in pre-season in January.”

March has paid tribute to Lewis Graham for his performance in the win over East Leeds after he was called up late on to replace Andy Gabriel on the wing.

“Lewis took his three tries really well and looked a very accomplished in that position, even though he’s not a winger,” said March.

“If everyone is fit, then I’ll probably go with the same 19 again this weekend.”

Meanwhile, March will not be offering a contract to former loanee Charlie Martin, who was recently on trial with Bradford Bulls.

The centre or second-rower played for Cougars on dual registration in 2013 and is searching for a new club.

March said: “His agent phoned me and told me what had happened.

“He was asking me whether I would be interested in Charlie because obviously we had him before.

“But, in his position, I’ve got our David, Ash Lindsay, Josh Lynam, Ollie Pursglove and young Chris Watson coming through, so we’re well covered in the back-row department.”