WIDNES assistant-coach Mick Cassidy believes his team’s 12-8 loss to Hull KR on Sunday, combined with results elsewhere, has set the cat among the pigeons in The Qualifiers.

The Vikings were clearly sub-par against Rovers and lost out in a dour tussle played in wet conditions.

The defeat means Widnes’s two wins so far in the eight-team mini-league have come against the only part-time teams competing, Halifax and Sheffield.

The other five teams in the The Qualifiers will also expect to beat the two minnows so the pressure on the Vikings to pick up wins elsewhere naturally increases.

Just to add fuel to fire, Bradford Bulls 41-10 thrashing of Salford Red Devils has destroyed the notion that Championship sides won’t pick up wins against top-flight opposition.

Cassidy said: “Bradford beating Salford was the first time a Super League team has been beaten by a Championship team in the Super 8s.

“The competition is set out so that every club has an opportunity to get a shot at Super League.

“Bradford are looking good after Sunday and we’ve got them away after Wembley, followed by Wakefield away. Both teams are playing some good rugby.

“I thought Wakefield did well to come back against Leigh on Saturday. They showed patience and what a fit team they are and how they’re willing to play for 80 minutes.”

In one sense, the equation remains very simple for Widnes. They just need to win games.

But Cassidy is well aware that performances of the quality the Vikings served up against Hull KR is unlikely to get the job done.

He added: “It’s one of those occasions when you can’t quite put your finger on it.

“The intensity in training was great; we had plenty of bodies on the field - we were leaving people out because we had that many people at training.

“The warm-up was fantastic, there was plenty of talk - but we just didn’t perform."

“I don’t like to blame weather conditions but they certainly had an impact on how both teams played particularly in regard to handling errors.

“But both teams played with the same ball on the same pitch and in the same conditions, so we can’t use that as an excuse.

“They’re a massive team Hull KR. It’s similar to a rugby union team; a lot of their players are over six-foot and it was ideal conditions to play the game they did and they completed better than us.

“I think their first eleven sets started in, or close to, our half. If you’re turning ball over in that area of the field, they’re going to have more energy than you to defend.”

One facet of the game where the visitors certainly got the better of the Vikings was kicking.

Both Rovers tries came from last tackle kick plays which Widnes failed to handle. At the other end of the field, Widnes’s attacking kicking game usually failed to ask the difficult questions.

“We talked about finishing our sets in their ‘10’, kicking to their wingers and challenging for the ball,” insisted Cassidy.

“But we didn’t seem to do that. We fell away from our kicking game early on and turned over some sloppy ball in our own half.

“Just catching the ball would have defended one of their scoring plays. It’s not massive errors that we’re making; it’s really simple stuff which is more frustrating.

“You see players train hard all week and catch the ball, but on the day with the conditions and a little bit of pressure, we just didn’t do it. That’s something we need to look at.”

Stefan Marsh limped off with a foot injury at the weekend but the Vikings are hopeful he will be fit for the game at Bradford a week on Sunday.

Patrick Ah Van and Eamon O’Carroll may also be available after missing out against Rovers.