JAMES Ratcliffe hopes York City Knights' collection of misfits will want to prove a point in Sunday's Northern Rail Cup opener against Gateshead.

The assistant coach said he has described the players as "mongrels" because so many of them have, at one time or another, been left on rugby league's scrapheap.

But he hopes their determination to succeed after being given a second chance in the game will shine through - starting against Thunder at Huntington Stadium.

"We've brought a group of players from many different clubs and I've described the players as mongrels'. We've got people who've either been discarded or told they are not going to make it and they have been given an opportunity here," Ratcliffe said.

"You want hungry people to come and play because it's a hungry game - it's an attitude game, rugby league. If we don't have that attitude, or that hunger, then we are not going to succeed and that's what we've been saying to the players."

Summing up a pre-season which saw the Knights fail to win, but put in a hugely encouraging performance against Super League giants Wakefield, Ratcliffe added: "As regards the pre-season games, against the York Select we were against a passionate side and against Wakefield we probably played to our full potential - regarding putting some set plays in.

"We asked for a better defensive effort against Leeds regarding the time we spend technically on the floor and in the tackle. Some of that came through in the first half (against Leeds) but in the second it boiled down to frustration. We weren't getting the rub of the green. This is when you find out who your true winners are and who wants the game."

Training this week may likely concentrate on goal-kicking, an area where Knights were abysmal in the 28-26 Leeds loss.

Only Lee Mapals, with the final kick of the match, managed to negotiate the ball through the uprights - with York converting just one of their six attempts.

Ratcliffe said: "That's an area we need to look at. If we had kicked the goals we would have won the game. We only kicked one all day and sometimes it matters. Sometimes it doesn't but against Leeds it was an example that it did."

But despite the Leeds setback, Rhinos academy coach Willie Poaching still reckons York could have what it takes to succeed in National League Two.

"York will go very close this year with some good experience up front," he said. "They've got some good players across the park and Lee Mapals was hard to handle. They'll go a long way and they might even pinch it."