KEIGHLEY Cougars head coach Craig Lingard has called for his side to be more ruthless as they aim to inflict some capital punishment this weekend.

Cougars returned from a two-week absence to grab a 46-28 victory at North Wales Crusaders. But Lingard said his side switched off in the final 20 minutes to conceded a number of late points.

Cougars now hope to build some more momentum when they host fourth-from-bottom London Skolars on Sunday (3pm kick-off).

Following the victory in Wales, Cougars moved to sixth place in the League One table, their sixth win from their first 10 games of the campaign. They are now one of three teams on 12 points, alongside Whitehaven and Workington Town.

Lingard outlined the threat Skolars pose but said his side need to leave a marker to the rest of the league.

He said: "London have a big set of forwards. They are a good team and they have some pace out wide and have two players on loan from Toronto Wolfpack playing in League One.

"London are a decent footballing side. Fitness-wise, they are not the best so, we have to exploit that in the last 20 minutes of the match.

"We are expecting to win the game if we do more than we did against North Wales in the last 20 minutes and need to look after the ball.

"The disappointing end to our game against North Wales was not just coming from me and the coaches, but it was coming from the players as well.

"We have set good standards and it is important that we get momentum now, especially going into games against York City Knights and Doncaster.

"London are a similar side to North Wales; they are right on the periphery of the top six or seven in the league.

"If we take the two points off London they will be four wins behind us and out of contention already.

"To get into the top five, we have got to beat teams like this. It would help us make a statement to the other teams in the division.

"We can score points against any team, but we have got to look after the ball better.

"I have got no concerns about us scoring, but we have got to be tighter in our defence."

Lingard felt his side switched off in the last 20 minutes of his side's victory in Wales,

He added: "We need to be more ruthless in the last 20 minutes of matches, that's what the North Wales game has taught us.

"It was difficult conditions, it was a hot day, but it was the same for both teams. We need to keep them focused, it is something that we need to fix up fairly quickly.

"We need to close out games better. As a coaching staff, we have things to work on."

Lingard says he has a couple of injury concerns ahead of the Skolars match. Darrell Griffin will be assessed after his quad tightened up against North Wales, while Benn Hardcastle took a knock to the head in his side's victory. Lingard said if necessary Ryan Wright would be drafted in as half-back.

Cougars have a two-week break from action following the Skolars clash due to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, but they return to action with a trip to Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium on Sunday, June 10. This will be followed by a home clash with League One's whipping boys West Wales Raiders.

Lingard also assessed his side's season so far, after their opening 10 matches.

He added: "We looked at the start of the season and it was tough, playing teams like Bradford Bulls, York, Workington and Whitehaven. It was a tough start and we know we were up against it after our first five games.

"We lost to Oldham and Whitehaven, but we were pretty happy with our start overall.

"If you look at everyone above us, they have played West Wales, so with their form, it is two points that we haven't had yet as we haven't played them.

Meanwhile, Cougars' Harry Aaronson, a Leeds University student, and Lewis Fairhurst, of Edge Hill University in Lancashire, both scored tries as England Universities beat New Zealand Students 42-4 on Saturday.

They were named as part of the 18-man squad for the match played at Featherstone Rovers' LD Nutrition Stadium.

Lingard praised the pair's involvement on the international stage. He added: "Having two players in the universities squad is great for the club. It is great that we have players playing for them.

"It shows that there is a transition from universities to first team action here at the Cougars. We have a good track record with this too.

"It shows that you are never too young to get a place in the Cougars first team."