" To lose four players as we did is not ideal preparation." He concede, " Especially against one of the League's exceptional sides. But that is not an excuse, and the absence of some players offers an opportunity for others.
" Yes we did lose, but it was not at all negative . There were players out there who showed they are very good players , and we really did take the game to Celtic. We dominated the bulk of the first half, and were excellent in the first 80 or 90 metres of the field. But we just couldn't get it right in that last ten.
" And after all the pressure of the first 25 minutes had not brought us the score we richly deserved, the players stopped doing what had been going so well for them , and started to look for other ways of getting over the try line. It was shear frustration, and if we had kept doing what we had been doing the break would have come. But Celtic are a good side with some great players and they were able to build up momentum of their own and that then took them home.
" But there were some top shows from our players, Dennis (Moran) and Ian (Watson) went particularly well , Lee Marsh too, did some good things and Lee Doran and the pack ran strong.
" I was pleased for Adam Higson too. He didn't get much game time, but what he did get, he did well in, and he scored a nice try too. I was pleased with the way he went.
" Unfortunately we did pick up a couple of knocks, but we will wait to see how they pan out.,"
Moran with a sore knee and Doran with a knock also on his leg, were the two 'casualties' but with no game this weekend before a trip to take on Featherstone Rovers, Leigh's players will hopefully be able to recuperate and prepare well for what will be a tough trip.
Never the less, the play one, miss one syndrome is difficult to adjust to as Neil Kelly admits.
" I think game time is important for us at present and we need to work on what we can in game situations." He added. " But the positive side is that we can try and freshen ourselves up for the tough fixtures that lie ahead.
" There are plenty of positives , but we must get mentally tougher and develop that killer punch. Comparison with Celtic is not comparing eggs with eggs, as they are full time and have a huge budget, but we are improving and we will get to where we want to be,"



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