YORK City Knights boss James Ford says tomorrow's visit of Hemel affords his troops a "fantastic opportunity to display their mental strength" in the wake of Thursday's heartbreak.

Victory over North Wales that night would have all but guaranteed a play-off place. Now, with the Crusaders right back in the hunt, Ford's men need three points from their last three games to bank a top-five spot.

And, with North Wales set to host York in a fortnight and Barrow to follow in the final fixture, it means two points is a must at Elmpark Way tomorrow (3pm) against an expansion side in the bottom half.

"It will be a really tough game," said Ford. "Hemel are a team that can knock off a couple of Northern teams on their day.

"But we need to focus on us. There were lots of positives against Crusaders.

"All year I've said what good character these boys have got, and this is a fantastic opportunity for them to display that mental strength, to play three games in a week and come back from a setback."

Thursday's 30-28 reverse ended the Knights' six-match winning run, regular mistakes from the back three throughout the first half ultimately proving costly.

But Ford remained positive after they so very nearly overcame a 28-0 half-time deficit - losing only to a controversial late penalty after a stirring comeback.

He has rejigged his back line but, notably, has kept faith in Nev Morrison, despite the winger's personal first half from hell, with Ben Dent, also at fault for a Crusaders try after dropping a bomb, likewise remaining in the starting 13. Morrison also struggled underneath kicks against London Skolars last Sunday.

Ford insisted he had "complete faith" in all of his players as they gear up for the all-important run-in.

"I've not had time to fully analyse what was going on (on Thursday) but my gut feeling was we weren't too far away," he said. "We were the better team in all areas apart from one - kick defence - which is very fixable.

"It's not just the winger and full-back - kick defence starts with kick pressure and includes escorts as well, and sometimes the harder you work as a group, the luckier you get.

"Could we have worked harder to cover up for a couple of mistakes? That's what you do in team sports - cover for your mate's mistake. If the chips are down you will get the points."

He added of the back three in particular: "They're good players. I'm sure they'll feel responsible but from my perspective it's a team effort. It's not an individual fault - everyone needs to think what could they have done slightly better to help the team move forward.

"It (dropping players) would be a knee-jerk reaction based on a couple of incidents in one game. You have to look past that. Nev's emotions will be raw but you have to look at the bigger picture and his form over a long period.

"Have I got faith in these players? Yes I have."

Liam Cunningham and young Adam Dent, whose left-side channel let in four of Crusaders' five tries, are still omitted, as is Micky Learmonth, who conceded the late match-winning penalty while the Knights were in possession.

But asked if he had swung the axe, Ford said the changes were more to do with fatigue ahead of a third game in eight days.

"Liam and Mickey are carrying minor injuries and with a short turnaround it will be tough to recover from Thursday night to Sunday," he said of his selection. "It's a balancing act. We have to take into account the schedule we've gone through."

Ed Smith switched to centre in Cunningham's stead on Thursday, a move which coincided with the fight-back and which will be continued tomorrow, even though it breaks up the second-row's successful combination with Greg Minikin on the right edge.

Another second-half alteration came at half-back, Pat Smith shifting from hooker to re-form a partnership with Jonny Presley. Those two will work in tandem again against the Stags, with Jordan Howden going to full-back, and Ben Dent back to the wing.

Harry Carter is back as replacement hooker, with Jack Blagbrough, Brad Hey and young Liam Richmond likewise returning to the bench, with Colton Roche, back in the treatment room after another knock, the other to make way.

There is no place for winger Jamel Chisholm, who scored against the Skolars on his recall a week ago.

Knights (probable): Howden, B Dent, Minikin, E Smith, Morrison, Presley, P Smith, Applegarth, Brining, Applegarth, Brining, Aldous, Mallinder, Tonks, Nicholson. Subs: Carter, Blagbrough, Richmond, Hey.

Hemel: from Ross, Olpherts, Anthony, Brown, McNamara, Coleman, Crowther, Ljazouli, Helliwell, Cousinie, L O'Callaghan, Lawrence, Mbaraga, Lloyd-Jones, Stewart, Sadler, Woodburn-Hall, Boyd-Barnes, Chester.