HEAD coach Danny McGee insists Keighley 'won't panic' as they start their Yorkshire One campaign on the back of a comprehensive cup defeat to Wetherby.

His newly-promoted side head to Yarnbury for their opening fixture on Saturday in optimistic mood after finishing runners-up to West Leeds in Yorkshire Two.

But their 33-0 defeat at Wetherby in the Yorkshire Shield – a competition in which they reached the semi-finals last season – was not the preparation they'd hoped for.

Keighley were not at full strength against last year's runaway Yorkshire Three champions, who are unbeaten in over 50 matches, but McGee did not want to make excuses.

He said: "We had some players missing but only a few. We were without Josh Hannah and Ben Blackwell, who are influential. But it was disappointing that others didn't step up and become leaders which I was looking for.

"We were also without Alan Ebbrell and Rob Wilkinson but we still had players with first-team experience.

"We'll talk about it this week and we won't panic. We're looking forward to the new season and we're excited about it."

Keighley don't have to look far for a positive omen ahead of Saturday's derby clash. It is only four months ago that they made the trip to Horsforth and thrashed Yarnbury 68-0 in last season's Yorkshire Shield quarter-final.

But McGee warned: "If we go there thinking it will be the same again we'll be in bother. There must be no complacency."

While setting no targets, the Keighley coach is confident his side can do well on their return to Yorkshire's top flight after a two-year absence.

"I don't focus on league positions but if we play like we did last season, we will beat teams," he said.

"We need to make sure we avoid the same mistakes we made when we were last promoted (to North One East in 2012).

"Our game management needs to be a lot better than it was then. We gave the ball away too much and lost four or five games in the last ten minutes."

McGee, who has added several new recruits including Joe Kaye, Declan Hampson and Jack Copperwaite, was buoyed by an 18-3 friendly win over Wheatley Hills prior to the Wetherby defeat.

He said: "We showed a great attitude and worked together as a side. We defended very well, which we were renowned for last season."