JON Higgins says a victory over Leicester Lions is crucial to kickstart Dudley Kingswinford’s season.

DK have endured a tough start to life in National Two North, losing both opening games after Saturday’s 44-10 drubbing at the hands of Stourbridge last Saturday.

And joint-head coach Higgins says a win against Lions, who were beaten 45-3 by Birmingham and Solihull last weekend, will be vital in helping to restore confidence.

He said: “We need to win to prove to ourselves we can cope at this level.

“I think we can. We have shown if we see enough of the ball we have the cutting edge to cause problems against anybody.

“The problem is securing enough ball in the first place.

“It’s a big game because since I have been at the club we have not lost two games in a row.

“That’s the situation we now find ourselves in and it’s going to be interesting to see how we bounce back.”

After all the build up, last Saturday’s game at Stourbridge turned into a one-sided affair as the hosts proved far too strong for DK.

Higgins was honest in his assessment, admitting his side were beaten by the better team.

He said: “You can do as much training as you like but ultimately these type of games are won and lost up front.

“That proved evident on Saturday when we came up against a very strong and experienced Stourbridge front five.

“I can’t fault the effort of our players, we just weren’t strong enough on the day.

“We were effectively playing a National One side and if I’m being brutally honest, it looked like we were a league apart.”

He added: “I remember looking at the clock at one point and seeing there was still 30 minutes to go and thinking ‘oh my goodness’.

“The most pleasing aspect was we never gave in and before the game that was all we asked for.”