Stuart Littler: stern words were needed to inspire Swinton comeback

Swinton Head Coach Stuart Littler admits that it took a half-time telling-off for his side to come from behind and claim a remarkable win over Rochdale at the Betfred Championship Summer Bash.

Having found themselves 30-14 behind and destined to endure a fourth defeat on the bounce, the Lions somehow clawed their way back to edge a 13-try thriller at Bloomfield Road.

Following the game, Littler admitted that he was hugely disappointed by his side’s first-half performance, but credited their ability to overcome adversity and go four points clear of the Hornets in the fight for survival.

He said: “The first half was one of the most disappointing of the season. There were some very stern words, some very serious words, at half time.

“There was a 35% completion rate at one point. You can’t compete with that – we just invited trouble onto ourselves. But fair play to the boys, they took it on the chin. We’ve got fight and we showed in that second half.”

Littler also believes that fine margins are holding the team back from success – the same success which teams like York are currently enjoying.

“We spoke about close games and close margins,” Littler admitted. “We had two-point losses, four-point losses and six-point losses. Look at a team like York. They’ve had so many two-points wins, four-points wins and six-point wins. We’ve got to flip those fine margins and see where we get to.”

Over the next month the Lions will take on Dewsbury, Toronto, Toulouse and York. With such a tough schedule ahead of them, Littler expressed his relief at getting two points in Blackpool.

“It’s not just two points for us, its two points off them,” he told loverugbyleague.com. “It’s a bonus as you’re guaranteed that they don’t win. I don’t want to be in the same position as last year where we’re chasing points and relying on other people to do you a favour.”