SEDGLEY Tigers coach Geoff Roberts has issued a rallying cry to his under-performing side as they prepare to take on leaders Hull Ionians on Saturday.

Missing several key players including Richard Wainwright, Oliver Parkinson, George Hymes and Chris Parrott through injury, the depleted Park Lane outfit crashed to a 21-6 defeat at Preston Grasshoppers last weekend.

Now Roberts is hoping the Tigers can pick themselves up and show the top side in National League Two North no charity when the sides meet on fundraising day at Park Lane.

"Sometimes playing a top side does us good and what I'm saying to the players is 'let's have a performance'," he told the Bury Times.

"Big matches like this makes all the players switch on and realise they've got a game on their hands. Sometimes you come out glowing.

"We do tend to play well on charity day. It tends to spark everyone into action a little bit.

"We've got to really look at that concentration level and enthusiasm and hope we come through."

Two late first half penalties from Steve Collins were scant consolation for the Tigers in the Lancashire Hot Pot derby on Saturday with Phillip Mills scoring a try in each half and Lewis Allen adding a conversion and three penalties as Preston Grasshoppers eased to victory.

The Tigers, who remain in sixth place in the league despite the defeat, have now lost three out of their four games since the turn of the year, and Roberts is disappointed his side have so far been unable to match the highs of last season, which saw the Tigers narrowly miss out on a promotion place.

"We're just not ticking," he said.

"It was just one of those frustrating days where we weren't finishing things off. And that's been been the story of the season.

"Last year we enjoyed some super play and we have pretty much the same group of players.

"But we've not hit the high spots at all this year. We are just not playing to our full potential.

"We put in a good performance against Ampthill even though we lost and played fantastically against Leicester but in the last two games we have looked a completely different team.

"We are making decent breaks but then there's a knock on or we lose possession of the ball.

"We had very little ball from our own doing against Preston.

"We spilled the ball much too easily.

"They wanted it more than us. They looked after the ball a lot better than we did. You've just got to hold your hands up to that, work at it and try to improve.

"We've got to find that missing piece and hopefully get a good run going, starting with Hull Ionians on Saturday."