Batley Bulldogs vs Keighley Cougars: Craig Lingard wary of Luke Gale threat as head coach faces former assistant Rhys Lovegrove

Sydney-born Lovegrove was Lingard’s assistant at Cougar Park for five months between January 2019 and May 2019 before the current Batley head coach was relieved of his duties.

Lovegrove took the hot seat a month later and gained promotion to the Championship by winning the League 1 title last season.

And Lingard has insisted he needs a “reaction” from his players if they are to return to winning ways, against a confident Keighley outfit, following two disappointing defeats to Swinton and Sheffield.

Lingard said: “They will be full of confidence having got their first win on Sunday against Newcastle. I have worked with Rhys before, he was my assistant when I was at Keighley. He is very methodical about how he works and very precise.

“He wants his players to play and wants his team to play in a particular way. We know they’re going to go wide, they’re going to play expansive. We need to make sure we nullify that and the way that we do that is winning contacts, which we didn’t do against Sheffield.

“Defensively we have got to be really good because if we defend like we did against Sheffield, then, by the way Keighley plays, they will cause some damage. It is down to us, defensively, to nullify their threat but also to play quicker than we did against Sheffield.

“There is lots of room for improvement in every department. We can’t run with the same 17 that played against Sheffield so some people will come in who haven’t played yet and we will be looking for a reaction from them.”

Lovegrove has made a series of eye-catching signings for the 2023 campaign, most notably 2017 Man of Steel Luke Gale.

On Keighley’s star man, Lingard said: “He is the big name, and rightly so having been in Super League for over a decade playing at the top level.

“He has got a great kicking game and he also knows how to manage a game. We need to reduce the space and time he has on the ball.”

Asked if there were any injury doubts ahead of the game, Lingard revealed:

“Just the usual injuries you get when you lose (after the Sheffield game). The niggles that you get when you win, you don’t feel. You feel them a little bit more when you lose, but there’s nothing major at first glance. Tom Lillycrop lost a tooth and there were a couple of bumps and bruises here and there.

“Josh Woods is still struggling with an ankle injury but he is trying to play through it. He is not 100 per cent fit. We have got a decision to make on Josh in that do we sit him out for a couple of weeks and try and get his ankle right because he is not playing anywhere near the potential we know he can do but he is trying to play through the pain barrier.

“He is a new player at the club wanting to put a mark down. We will see how he is in training this week.”