CRAIG Lingard wants Cougars to earn breathing space in the top-eight League One race with victories over two rival contenders in the next 11 days.

Keighley will go a long way to cementing their place in the Super 8s if they can win at Newcastle Thunder on Sunday and beat London Skolars at home the following week.

The head coach has higher targets but his first objective is to ensure Cougars, who are currently sixth, finish in the top half of the table before it splits in two at the end of July.

With six games to go of the regular season, the race is hotting up in a congested league which sees fourth-placed Doncaster only six points above 13th-placed Skolars.

And Lingard said: "Everyone is playing everyone else around them. If we win these next two games and get four points, I would imagine that we would be pretty much cemented in that top eight as teams are taking points off each other around us.

"It’s a really good opportunity for us to put a bit of breathing space between us and clubs around us and also to try and get in that top four as well."

A top-four spot is the ultimate goal which would mean four of seven Super 8s fixtures would be at Cougar Park rather than three.

Lingard wants an improvement in Keighley's away form, which has seen them win just twice on the road so far.

But he is aware that Sunday's trip to Kingston Park – home of Premiership rugby union side Newcastle Falcons – will be far from easy.

"I think Thunder are in a false position and are better than their league placing suggests at the minute," warned Lingard, whose side returned to winning ways with an emphatic 74-6 win at home to South Wales Ironmen last week.

"They have strength all the way down the middle with a strong pack and some strike on the edge as well. We are under no illusions it's going to be a massively tough game.

"If we beat them we go four points above them and if they beat us they go level with us, so it’s a huge 'four-point' game. We need to chalk it off and get our away form back on track."

As was the case on their last away trip – when Cougars lost at Doncaster – their hosts are likely to be playing under an interim coach following the departure of Mick Mantelli last month. His assistant Jason Payne oversaw Thunder's last match in which they beat Gloucestershire All Golds 56-10.

Lingard said: "He will have his own slant on things but we're under no illusions that they are going to challenge down the middle.

"We need to be patient as the game progresses. That is how York beat them (in the game before All Golds).

"Newcastle started off really strongly against York but they ground them down just by working hard."

Lingard reported no fresh injuries following last Saturday but the club have parted company with Fran Welsh.

The prop joined Cougars from Newcastle ahead of this season but the move has not worked out.

Lingard said: "He started the season in the starting 17 but unfortunately from a coaching point of view he didn’t really give me what I was hoping he would.

"He's been in the reserves the last few weeks and he’s been quite open and honest in saying that he wants to play first-team rugby at this stage of his career which I can understand.

"At this moment in time, he wasn’t knocking on the door of the 17 and wants to find first-team opportunities elsewhere.

"He leaves with our best wishes and I hope it works out for him."

Meanwhile, Cougars Reserves are back in action tomorrow night when they host Halifax Reserves (7.30pm).