YORK City Knights boss Paul Broadbent has warned his troops that their big test is yet to come.

The Knights have hammered basement boys London Skolars and lowly Gateshead in the last three weeks but in between times lost at home to new leaders Sheffield Eagles in what is turning out to be a red-hot National League Two promotion race.

And with in-form Barrow Raiders - who have the same number of points as Sheffield - the visitors to Huntington Stadium this Sunday, Broadbent reckons this is the time to stand up and be counted.

He said: "We've bounced back pretty well from the Sheffield defeat (by winning 64-8 at Gateshead on Sunday) but for me the big test will be next week.

"We've convincingly turned over teams we would be expected to beat but when we came up against opposition we should have been competing with, we came unstuck.

"We under-performed in a pretty big way against Sheffield, but, that said, we were only a whisker away from winning. Therefore, we should not be too concerned about that defeat, we've just got to do the smart things and prepare for the test that is coming."

He added: "You could drive yourself mad finding reasons why we did not perform to our potential against Sheffield. At the end of the day it's about if you perform on the day. If you do, you get the result and we've got to strive tirelessly to make sure we prepare ourselves to perform on each day.

"We've been pretty good recently. Last week against Sheffield was a step back but everybody knows that, and this week we've got to be happy with the result and now prepare for the tough test against Barrow.

"I'm convinced the guys are starting to have the belief that if we do the right things we get the results. Sometimes you are going to make an error as you have to make split-second decisions, but people are understanding the right and wrong time to get a play on. You've got to be selective."

The Knights' league campaign began with just one point from four games before their season kick-started with a 27-20 triumph away to Barrow in late May. But Broadbent reckons that victory will have no bearing on Sunday's game.

"The win at Barrow made a big difference to our season but what's done is done," he said.

"What happened there won't count one iota to what happens next week."

Jon Sharp believes his previous experience of working with Huddersfield will stand him in good stead as he takes over as Giants head coach next season.

St Helens assistant coach Sharp has been named as the club's successor to Tony Smith for the 2004 season. Sharp worked under Smith at the McAlpine Stadium in 2001 before moving on to Knowsley Road.

Updated: 11:25 Tuesday, August 05, 2003