Cougars boss Barry Eaton believes Sunday's Northern Rail Cup semi-final will be the perfect tonic for his side’s league woes.

A week after defeat to fellow strugglers Dewsbury dealt a body blow to hopes of Championship survival, Keighley are handed a chance to change the complexion of their season.

Victory against Widnes at Cougar Park for the right to face Batley would make silverware a very real possibility during a season when Cougars have had to deal with their fair share of adversity.

A nine-point deduction made survival an uphill struggle, yet Eaton’s troops have approached the task with a refreshing enthusiasm and fearlessness – an attitude they will apply to their last-four clash.

“It’s the perfect game after the disappointment of last week,” said Eaton.

“You can’t get away from the fact that it was a big game for us and we narrowly failed in our task.

“But we are playing a different competition this week and, although it’s a massive challenge, it’s also a massive opportunity.

“It’s something to get really excited about. If we’d had another league game we may well still be getting over last week but this is different.

“We’ve trained really well this week and we’re all really upbeat.”

A former Widnes player himself, Eaton is under no illusions about the magnitude of the task ahead but is confident his Cougars are well equipped to cope.

Despite losing 72-10 to Widnes in the only other meeting between the teams this season, a lot has changed since then.

While Cougars have beaten the odds to win three of their last five games, Vikings have struggled to match high expectations, losing five of their last six.

“We’ve got a different belief about us from the last time we played Widnes,” said Eaton.

“They’re the holders and favourites so it’s a big task but hopefully the fortune that we’ve not had in the league will stick with us in the cup.

“We’ve got a home draw and that’s all we could have asked for at this stage.”

Cougars have been boosted ahead of the clash with the news that Jonny Presley’s knee injury is not as serious as first suspected.

The lively stand-off stands a 50-50 chance of being fit for the game after the problem emerged as a strain rather than ligament damage.

Season tickets, passport for leisure and life membership are not valid for entry to Sunday’s game and admission costs £14 for adults, £7 for concessions and £4 for under-16s. Stand transfer costs £1.