HEAD coach James Ford took his share of the blame for York City Knights' drab second-half show against South Wales Scorpions - but any criticism was tempered by the fact their comfortable victory put them second in Kingstone Press League One with a game in hand on leaders Rochdale.

The Knights led 34-0 at half-time at Bootham Crescent but an expected second-half try fest against the perennial strugglers did not materialise as the match finished 40-6.

The result nonetheless maintained York's 100 per cent league record.

Ford had made four changes to the side beaten in the bruising Challenge Cup tie at Dewsbury last week, and he had to effect a further reshuffle in the first half after full-back Richard Wilkinson departed with a tricep injury.

And while he bemoaned his team's lack of focus and concentration in the second stanza, he reckoned his changes contributed to a lack of cohesion, and he also questioned his own input at the interval.

"Yes, we're in it together," said Ford, when asked if he had been at fault for the drop in performance after half-time.

"When the team performs like that, I'm the man who's been speaking to them and giving instructions and maybe I need to look at how I delivered the message.

"Coaches can take plaudits when things go well so when the team doesn't hit their straps you should be the first person people come to.

"There was a lack of intent and when that happens in a game like that, people can start doing unusual things. The main issue, though, was maybe the number of changes we made.

"Looking at the bigger picture, we needed to have a look at different people and combinations to see where they're at because we will need them through the season and they will be better for that. We also needed to keep people fresh.

"We need to credit South Wales, though, as they threw up a challenge which was better than maybe some people anticipated.

"For 20 minutes we got somewhere near where we needed to be, but a lot of the time we were miles away in possession.

"South Wales had a fair dig but we at times lacked shape and did not move the ball as we can. Sometimes against teams lower down when you're attention to detail isn't right they can start to get in the game."

After completing 20 out of 23 sets in the first half, the Knights got to the end of only ten from 18 in the second, a statistic which contributed to the Scorpions' increased competitiveness.

Ford added: "The game was won and we maybe lost focus, intent and concentration and that fed South Wales' energy, and they did okay. They will knock some teams off playing like that - which would be good for the competition."

Ford was confident his side would be back on song for next week's iPro Sport Cup semi-final against Gloucestershire All Golds - when York will be aiming for their first-ever knockout cup final since the 1978 Yorkshire Cup.

"I was disappointed with what we served up in the second half but for the eight games previously I've been pretty impressed with what the players have done," he said.

"I thought we were pretty good in the first half, after the first ten minutes when South Wales tested us and we had to defend with some resolve.

"In the second half we got sloppy but maybe that's down to what we've done at half-time. Maybe the changes and the interchange plan didn't help - we will have a good look at it."

Wilkinson was to be checked out early this week, but Ford was concerned.

"He's a tough kid and was in a fair bit of pain so it might be a little bit more serious than just a jarred elbow or shoulder."