HEAD coach James Ratcliffe admits he was “shot to pieces” by York City Knights this week – but not over Dave Woods’ arrival.

Ratcliffe leads his charges into the big Challenge Cup tie against Crusaders on Sunday just a week after former Gateshead and Castleford boss Woods was brought in above him as director or rugby.

But it was a morale-boosting team building exercise on the paint-balling field, rather than Woods’ appointment, which left him feeling bruised.

Ratcliffe has welcomed the Aussie and reckons Sunday’s match, in which the Knights have nothing to lose, could prove a good starting point for the pair to get things right for the Championship One campaign.

“I think any knowledge is good to be honest,” Ratcliffe said of Woods’ arrival. “Hopefully we can build a really good working relationship and bring success to the side.

“His record is second to none and I’m sure he can bring something to myself, Chris (player/assistant-coach Chris Thorman) and the squad.”

Knights general manager Ian Wilson and Woods himself have said the shock appointment – which came after three wins and three defeats in the league – does not undermine Ratcliffe’s position. And, while the Dewsbury-based coach admits it is a “strange” set of circumstances, he too is optimistic the new bootroom structure could prove successful.

“Dave and I had a brief chat on Tuesday night and that will develop over the next month or so, to see where he can be used best for the good of the club,” said Ratcliffe, who was told about Woods’ imminent arrival – as first revealed on www.thepress.co.uk on Friday – before it was announced.

“Dave’s come in to have a look at the football at the club. I’m still coaching the side and making the decisions in training and on match-days. If that’s the case, I can’t see it being a problem.”

Sunday’s tie against the Welsh Super League outfit – in which victory would be one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s illustrious history – will be the first match since Woods’ appointment, as the Knights had no league game last weekend. Instead, they went paintballing, and Ratcliffe admitted he was caught in the firing line.

“I got shot to pieces by them,” he joked. “But it was good, and training went really well on Tuesday night. It’s a pressure-week to some extent.

“It would be wrong to say we’re not going to win because you go into every game expecting to win, but it will be a massive task.

“We can play with confidence, though, because no one is expecting us to get a result, and we can work on the things we’re trying to get right for the league games.”

Asked what the chances were of a shock victory, he said: “We’re not looking at the result. We’re trying to get our performance right. We haven’t played particularly brilliantly in the league and we need to keep working hard for the games after.

“Crusaders are going pretty well in Super League. It would be very nice to win but it will be a big ask.”

The Knights are unlikely to make a move for Featherstone centre Larsen Marabe this week, but Ratcliffe has confirmed a loan could be afoot for the following week for the return to league action. As also revealed by The Press last week, talks are also ongoing with former Gateshead playmaker Neil Thorman for when his commitments end in France.

“We’re discussing it with Featherstone,” said Ratcliffe of the Papua New Guinea international. “We’re pretty deficient in that area (centre) and if we could get him here it would be good.”

Reserves boss Mick Ramsden fielded a number of first-teamers – including under-fire centre Mike Mitchell, winger Wayne Reittie and half-back Casey Bromilow – in the reserve league opener at Dewsbury last night. For a report, visit www.thepress.co.uk.

• Bar 13 at Huntington Stadium will be showing the live Challenge Cup tie between Huddersfield and Hull KR (1.45pm) before the Knights v Crudaders match.

There is happy hour, and a limited number two-course meals can be booked by phoning 01904 641724.

Junior season ticket holders are reminded they can gain free entry to the match using voucher ‘B’.

Turnstiles will open at 1.30pm and ticket holders can access Bar 13 from 12.30pm via Courtney’s reception. However, as this is a cup tie, season tickets are not valid so anyone wishing to access Bar 13 before the turnstiles open will need to buy a ticket before 5pm tomorrow from the Knights office on the above number.