Leeds Knights 2 coach Davey Lawrence looking for young guns to switch up the momentum

Leeds head into their Saturday encounter with Widnes Wild having lost three straight games, a run which has left them second-bottom in the standings.

Widnes, who enjoyed a 5-0 home win on Leeds in the first of those three games, arrive at Elland Road Ice Arena four points ahead of their hosts.

Injuries and call-ups to the Leeds Knights’ NIHL National team continue to hamper Lawrence, who is now also missing key forward Owen Dell with an upper-body injury.

“We need to look at taking some points this weekend if we can at all, but we’re still suffering with injuries and stuff like that, so it's a constant juggling act at the moment,” said Lawrence.

“They are four points ahead of us and they play both us and Nottingham this weekend. So if both us and Nottingham can do a job on them this weekend, that just pulls that little group of three really tighter together.”

While home ice should prove to be an advantage, Lawrence will remind his young team not to take anything for granted.

“Again, it's about the performance,” he added. “It's not about resting on our laurels and thinking it should be easier because we’re at home.

“It's like anything in life, when your back is against the wall, you've got to come together and work with what you've got.

“If we start trying to cut corners and expecting things to happen, it's going to work against us. It's on us to change this momentum and swing things in our favour.”

Last week saw the Knights lose 6-3 at home to Hull Jets. Lawrence believes a lack of confidence is an issue for his side at the moment.

“We're just not very confident right now,” he explained. “We've got to find a way to fight through that and try and get to the end of some games and try and see some results through here, rather than just packing our tents.”

“It's frustrating at times, but it's something that we've got to work with. We've got to try and work our way through it - eventually we will.”