HEAD coach Craig Lingard is hoping Cougars’ familiarity with Sunday’s hosts Barrow can get them a win and see them sneak into the play-offs.

Keighley need a victory against the second-placed Cumbrians in their last League One Super Eights fixture and are also relying on champions Toronto Wolfpack to beat Doncaster.

That would see them snatch a place in the top five but, having lost to Barrow four times this year, that will be easier said than done.

However, Lingard is hoping he and his team have learned from their previous defeats. “They’ve been a bit greedy – they’ve won four already this year so we’re hoping it’s going to be fifth time lucky,” he said.

“We know what they’re about. They’re a big unit, they’ll come and challenge you down the middle.

“We know that our middle is going to have to toughen up and be aggressive in defence, and we know that we’re going to have to complete a little bit better than we did against Workington.”

Last Sunday’s 28-6 win over Town kept Keighley’s hopes of prolonging their season alive and was also an emotional occasion as it was long-serving captain James Feather’s last home game before he retires at the end of the season.

Feather was the first name on the scoresheet in the game and Lingard was delighted for him as he bids farewell to Cougar Park after 15 years of service.

He also paid tribute to Neil Cherryholme, who was also playing his final home game before calling time on his playing career.

Lingard said: “It was a fitting send-off for ‘Buster’ and ‘Chez’ and I’m really pleased for Buster that he got over for that first try on his final home game.

“They’ve both been great professionals for me down here this season and I’m pleased we could get the win for them.”

Despite the victory over Workington, Lingard wasn’t impressed by his side’s display.

He said: “I think the weather dictated some of the ball retention and errors that were out there, but I don’t think the weather was too bad in the first half and we still didn’t retain the ball as well as I would have liked.

“The amount of errors that we made were too many, even in these conditions.

“We tried to overplay at times instead of reining it in and being a little tighter around the ruck. We didn’t need to go quite as wide as we did.

“We should have been a little bit smarter and played a little bit tighter at times.

“But we’ll take the positives out of the game,” Lingard added.

“We’ve won the game, Newcastle have done us a favour and I thought our defence was really good, which is a really pleasing aspect of our game.”

With Cougars sitting on the verge of the play-offs, the Keighley boss could not thank the fans enough for the part they have played.

“I think the crowds have gone up this year which is pleasing,” he said.

“I think we’ve played some attractive rugby at times. We’ve also played some sloppy rugby, so we’ll have to look at that next season; being a bit more consistent as the season progresses rather than being good one week and poor the week after.

“But the fans have been great for me,” Lingard added.

“I don’t think I would have been top of many people’s lists of names for the head coach’s job this year and they’ve been really welcome and supporting of me and I really appreciate that.”

And those fans have been rewarded with some fantastic results, including a draw that makes them only the second team to take points off Toronto.

“Playing against a full-time team with the budget that they’ve got, I know we didn’t get the win but the draw felt like a win at the time,” Lingard reflected.

“There’s other performances that you look back on as a coach. I probably look at the negatives more than the positives to be honest.

“Maybe I need to change that mindset but I’m always looking to improve, looking to see where we can get better.”

Lingard already has next year in his mind, not only in how performances can be improved but also the squad.

“We’ve identified what we’ve wanted to keep this year, and we’ve done that so far,” he said.

“We’ve brought a couple in already and we’re still talking to other people as well, so we know what we need to bring in.”

“We’re just waiting on a couple of decisions and if they come in as well then we’re looking pretty strong for next year.”