Cougars chief Jason Demetriou has challenged his players to go the distance in their pursuit of Northern Rail Cup success.

Despite a comfortable 24-6 win against Rochdale in his first competitive game as player-coach, the performance didn’t quite meet the Aussie’s exacting standards.

Impressively efficient during the first 30 minutes, Keighley executed their game-plan to perfection and looked set to pile on the points.

But a brief lapse either side of half-time marred an otherwise solid display, and Demetriou knows his side can’t afford to make the same mistake at Dewsbury on Sunday.

He said: “The important thing at the start of the season is results, especially with a competition like this.

“We want to progress in the Northern Rail Cup, so we were pleased to get the result against Rochdale.

“We executed our game-plan really well in the first half, and if we had done that for another 20 minutes, we would’ve run away with it.

“But we didn’t, so the challenge for us is to put in a full 80-minute performance this week. That’s been the focus of our training and video work.

“It’s definitely in the players. Since I’ve come to the club I’ve tried to challenge the players to reach higher levels and there’s a lot of improvement still in them.”

That room for improvement has stopped Demetriou from dipping into the transfer market since his arrival at the club in late December.

Inheriting a young squad from predecessor Barry Eaton, the former Wakefield star was excited by the combination of vast potential and competition for places.

Andy Shickell is likely to miss the clash with Dewsbury due to an ankle problem but Cougars have the resources to cope.

“I’ve not looked to bring anyone in at all,” he said. “I’m putting faith in the players, and as long as they keep improving I don’t see any reason why I would.

“I’ve got options and I will play the team that suits the team we’re playing against.

“Andy Shickell is a big doubt for Sunday but I’ve got Jonesy (Richard Jones) who can come in and was unlucky not to play last weekend.

“I’ve also got Greg Nicholson, Jamie Shepherd and Ben Sagar, who are all itching to play and will get their chance.

“But I don’t want to change the team too much as that won’t help us develop consistency.”

In looking for weaknesses at Keighley, some critics had highlighted the halves as an area for improvement.

But Demetriou believes performances so far have proved otherwise, with Luke Helliwell competing for a place with off-season signings Paul Drake and Ryan Smith, who started against Rochdale.

He said: “Ryan and Drakey are both really talented players.

“Paul Drake is learning all the time and, funnily enough, Sunday wasn’t his best performance but it’s a learning curve because he’s still trying to adapt to the semi-professional game.

“Ryan is working really hard to get us in the positions we need to be and we’ve also got Luke Helliwell, who is unlikely to play at the weekend but should play in the next two Northern Rail Cup games.

“There’s the option of me playing there as well if any of them don’t perform, so it puts pressure on places.

“The good thing is that they’re all young and want to learn. They look you in the eye when you tell them something and they always take it on board.”