MICKY Higham will hope his inspirational words have the same effect for Leigh Centurions as last week when they host Barrow Raiders in the Betfred Championship Shield Super Eights tomorrow.

Despite having their own troubles in the build-up to last Sunday's Super Eights opener at home to Sheffield Eagles, Leigh went on to record a resounding 68-6 victory over the South Yorkshire side.

Centurions skipper Higham, who came out of retirement earlier this year to help the club, revealed he had spoken frankly to the squad beforehand and is eager to see a similar response against the Raiders as well.

“We had to remember why we played the game in the first place, because we enjoyed it and we were doing something we loved doing,” Higham wrote in his column on the club's official website.

“Now the challenge is to go out and do it again. It will be tough to back up last week’s performance but that’s what we will be trying to do.

“We want to continue our winning run and keep up the good performances and as captain I’ll be looking for more of the same against Barrow.

“I’ll once again be reminding the lads who step out in the Cherry and White just what it means and to do it for themselves, the team and the fans.”

Barrow have already beaten Leigh once this year though and Paul Crarey's side head to the Sports Village in a confident mood after beating Rochdale Hornets last Sunday to move further clear of the relegation zone.

That 24-20 win at Craven Park and the performance in the 46-18 loss at Leigh during the regular season have provided further boosts ahead of the game.

And Raiders second row Jono Smith believes this match gives the team an opportunity to play with some freedom too after easing a lot of their relegation fears with the win over Rochdale.

“We've still got another 12 points to play for and there's no reason we can't go to Leigh on Sunday to get two points and secure safety,” said Smith. “It would be a massive result for the club and for the lads as well.

“Barring a miracle for both Swinton and Rochdale, we're pretty much safe and hopefully that will show in the next few weeks with our performances. We might be able to play a bit better with not so much pressure on us.”