York City Knights boss Mick Cook has called for a rethink of the way fixtures are handed out to National League teams as he prepares for the second of five enforced idle weekends.

Only one team from National League Two - Swinton Lions - is still going in the otherwise NL1 Northern Rail Cup quarter-finals but all ten NL2 teams have had fixtures cleared for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.

Cook said: "It's not ideal. There's only so many teams that can get into the quarter-finals of the Northern Rail Cup but every single one has been kept clear just in case.

"It's a bit of a problem for some teams. You need to play on a weekly basis and it doesn't help with all these long breaks.

"After the Blackpool game, we've only got two games next month and then there's another blank week - you need to have a bit of consistency.

"I think the Rugby League need to have a look at it for next season."

The Knights last year made serious headway in both the Arriva Trains Cup - the NRC equivalent - and the Challenge Cup.

But the problem this time out has been compounded by the shifting of the Challenge Cup final to the end of the season meaning more rounds taking place alongside league action.

Possible pros of having so many breaks include giving players with less serious knocks such as Craig Forsyth and Jonny Liddell an extra week's 'free' rehabilitation.

But even this argument holds little water with Cook.

"We haven't had that many knocks this season," he said. "And it doesn't help when you're trying to operate a squad rotation system.

"If they play five or six on the bounce you can leave them out for a rest but if there's no game it's difficult to justify.

"It puts a lot of pressure on the coaches, too."

The prospect of yet another Sunday kicking their heels so soon after a second successive sticky performance is hardly appealing.

Said Cook: "We are struggling with our form a little bit at the moment and we need to ride through that and come out the other side.

"We could rip on and repair some of the areas we have been working on but it's another blank weekend."

Match fitness, which by its very nature can only come from a constant level of full-game scenarios, is also taking a battering with players returning from injury taking longer to return to full fitness.

Added Cook: "It's all stop-start.

"We had that Challenge Cup game at St Helens the other weekend or we wouldn't have had a game for three weeks.

"It's not ideal but that's the format for this year and hopefully the Rugby League will make changes for next season."

Don't forget tomorrow's Evening Press for the next instalment of the Cook Report

Updated: 10:36 Tuesday, May 24, 2005