Swinton player-coach Paul Smith is expecting a reaction from his players when the Lions take on Warrington Wizards in the Carnegie Challenge Cup at Wilderspool on Friday (8pm), writes Chris Brierley.

Smith is still smarting from defeat by Oldham Roughyeds in the opening Championship One game last week when a below par Lions were well beaten 38-20 at Sedgeley Park.

"I was very disappointed," said Smith. "We expected to do well and our goal was to win all our home games. But the the performance was just not there. Individual errors like dropping the ball and missing tackles cost us dearly."

The Lions face a battle in the third round against the Conference side who knocked out the British Army and the Royal Air Force in the last two rounds.

"We need to bounce back straight away and we won’t dwell on defeat," said Smith.

"It is important to progress in the Cup for financial reasons and we will treat it like a league game. I want a reaction from the players. I don’t know much about the Wizards but I have a couple of tapes coming which I will be looking at.

"They beat the Army in the last round and they are always hard to beat. Technically they are only in the league below so we will be treating them with respect."

Swinton are still struggling to get their squad fit and last week influential forward Dana (correct) Wilson pulled out through illness.

"We have 27 players in our squad and you would think that would be enough but at the moment the team is picking itself," said Smith. "It’s a learning curve for me as a coach.

"It’s bad losing as a player but it’s 10 times worse as a coach. It will be a test of me and the coaching staff as to how we deal with it."