IT'S good to talk. That was the message from York City Knights coach Paul Broadbent to his players following the 36-22 Arriva Trains Cup defeat at Featherstone Rovers yesterday.

His side had gone into the break level at 10-10 and had been the better side for much of the first half. But Rovers took command at the start of the second half and Broadbent reckoned a lack of communication between his players at a crucial stage of the game had played a major part in their downfall.

"All of a sudden everybody stops talking and we lose communication and our cohesion and it all just goes like that," he told the Evening Press.

"Communication is a big part and if people want to be playing at the highest level they've got to get it right. You don't have to be an international player to be able to communicate with the players around you.

"We can do it because we do it in patches, and if we can get them in the frame of mind where they're talking and communicating for the full 80 minutes we've got the ability to do a full job.

"I do address it in training and everybody is aware of the issues. But it still seems to be that when we go quiet everybody goes quiet all at once, although once we get over that we're on our way again."

Broadbent admitted he was disappointed his side had still to break their duck in the Arriva Trains Cup, notwithstanding the fact all the teams they had played had been from the division above.

"The guys showed in the first half what they are capable of but for whatever reason we lost our way in the second.

"We knew exactly what we needed to do but all of a sudden we lost track of where we needed to be and we started to drift off. It's happened a couple of times this year and it's very frustrating not only for me but also the guys.

"You can see in the dressing room how disappointed they are. I feel for them because I know they want to be winners.

"But I'm getting to the stage where I'm not happy with us being competitive and pushing teams. I think we've got enough within our team to be able to beat them. If we can do it for 40 minutes or for 60 minutes, we should be able to do it for 80 minutes.

"We're showing signs that we've got plenty of ability and the understanding is right, but as soon as they get a fatigue element we start to drift away from what we've discussed.

"I'm not criticising the players as such as the commitment is there but we're just drifting away in crucial areas and at certain times. We've got to put that right and as soon as we do we can see ourselves becoming a force."

Updated: 11:35 Monday, February 17, 2003