I SAID the result against Swinton was a crossroads moment and, despite our best efforts, we were beaten by 33-26 for their first victory of the season, writes Raiders Review columnist Tony Colyer.

The defeat means we are now in a relegation dogfight with Dewsbury, Batley, Rochdale and Swinton. This wasn’t the plan as everyone associated with the club thought that we could kick on from last season andconsolidate our Championship status.

There was no reason to think we couldn’t achieve that objective as we were able to maintain the majority of last year’s squad and pre-season recruitment was positive, with the addition of exciting prospects Tee Ritson, Jake Spedding and Deon Cross and the marquee signing of Gareth Hock – but, following his boxing injury, will he ever don a Raiders shirt?

The PNG trio came with good credentials, and Jordan Walne and Josh Johnson came from Super League so there was every reason for optimism.

However, the performances have been inconsistent and, for the first time this season, the supporters are getting a bit critical, which is understandable. The question is: Can we overcome those teams around us and steal a couple of victories against the high flyers?

Based on what we have witnessed thus far, the answer has to be no. After interviewing head coach Paul Crarey last Sunday, I know how disappointed and frustrated he is with team discipline and general game management. Injuries mean we can’t put the same team out every week and that appears to affect the general understanding between the players.

We were unbeaten for almost two years at Craven Park, but this season we have only won once in seven home games – a friendly victory over Whitehaven.

We all want Paul and his team to be successful, they have put in a tremendous amount of effort over the last three years and deserve reward. We must remain positive, but as the Chairman said in his latest column, we cannot afford to get relegated to League One.

It’s a results business and we must begin to get results, starting tomorrow against York City Knights in the Challenge Cup. York were promoted last season and have started 2019 on fire, so how are they better than us ?

Two years ago, they almost went bust, but they have developed a very strong squad under well-respected coach James Ford. Last week they got beaten at home by Sheffield Eagles, who have also turned around their fortunes and are third in the table after finishing below us last season.

This is the crossroads moment; it’s now time for the Barrow players to stand up and be counted, and tomorrow's cup tie is an ideal game to do just that. There is no pressure, two precious league points are not at stake, so there should be no fear.

York haven’t won at Craven Park for a very long time, but will be expecting to be in the next round on current form. Let’s make sure they are not as a good cup run would not only be good for the finances, but for confidence too.

See you tomorrow.