York Knights head coach dismisses idea of ​​panic signings

The Knights have been plagued by injuries since the start of the season, resulting in players being played out of position and finding consistency difficult.

But Henderson has admitted he will not be forced into any panic signings and will only sign players who fit the club’s philosophy.

“I spoke to the owner and if they have the right player at the right price, who is also the right person for this dynamic organization, then we could potentially look at that,” Henderson explained.

“I’m not one to just bring anyone in and panic buy. They have to fit what we’re about and they have to add value.

“There’s no point in signing someone who isn’t as good as what we have. He has to be just as good, if not better than what we have at the moment, but he also has to be the right fit for this club and for this team.

“I’m not going to be one of those people who just throws bodies in there, there’s no point.

“We’re making it tough, there’s no doubt about that, we’ve had this injury crisis. But we did it all season, we adjusted, we overcame, we had people playing out of position and we had to try different combinations most weeks but we still found ways to close games win, and we still found ways to compete and compete in games.

“There have only been one or two games this year where I felt like we weren’t fully into the races, other than doing enough to win or doing quite well .

“Yes we need to get better, yes we need to improve and I think there is still a hell of a lot of improvement to be made in this team.

“As I’ve said over the past few weeks, that will come in time when we have the troops on the field and have the time to build those combinations with them and ensure continuity in our game.

“But for the here and now, we have what we have and we have to manage it as best we can, and that’s what we’re doing.”

“It’s also a credit to this group because none of them have been discouraged and none of them are showing any signs of unemployment or frustration with what is going on.

“They come into training with a smile on their face, they work hard and they also work hard and with extras off the training ground.

“I feel like everyone is trying their best to be at their best on match day.

“Whether they do it or not, that’s potentially a setback for them, but they’re getting a lot of opportunities to show me what they’ve got right now, so we can’t really complain about that.”

Henderson could look to sign players on loan from Betfred Super League clubs, as he has previously done with newcomers Oli Pratt and Oli Field.

“It’s difficult to sign players mid-season.

“In general, the players who become available at this time of year have either had a dispute with a club or a manager, or they don’t get playing time at their club because they’re likely to be seen as squad players.

“That’s not to say some of these players aren’t good enough for us. We have Oli Pratt who is considered a squad player at Wakefield but we feel like we see something in him and the same is true of Oli Field as a squad player at Leeds we recognized him and his talent and felt that he could create real added value in our system and in our club.

“There are some players but you have to be patient and when they are available we will look at that.

“But ultimately the owner has to have the last word on it.”