PETER Gentle says Hull FC cannot afford to take it easy this week as they go in search of a victory that will virtually guarantee their play-off place.
The Black and Whites face a short turnaround as they bid to back up from the physical and mentally draining derby victory with a home win against Salford City Reds on Friday night.
Despite the quick turnaround and with the Challenge Cup final looming large, Gentle says there will be little let-up for his players at training as they bid to build on the momentum of three successive victories.
"We won't do anything different this week, it's business as usual, and the fact we have the cup final next week doesn't change our approach to Friday's game," Gentle told the Mail.
"The players were in yesterday for review and recovery and then after a day off today we have a full day tomorrow and the captain's run on Thursday, so we haven't changed anything. "Nothing changes because we need wins in this competition.
"We will do a few things differently next week for the cup, but we have done that all the way through the cup to spice it up and that's served us well."
Hull go into the game with league strugglers Salford knowing victory will virtually guarantee their play-off place and that a top-eight spot will be cemented if they win and Bradford Bulls fail to beat Castleford Tigers two days later.
With the Wigan game at Wembley to follow, the danger lies in Hull having one eye on the final, allowing Salford to clinch a potentially harmful win in terms of the Black and Whites' play-off chances.
Victory in the derby game has put Hull firmly in the play-off picture, but a home tie that comes from a top-six finish remains the priority. Trailing Catalan by two points, Gentle knows his side cannot afford to slip up this week, but he's confident the mental strength shown by his players in recent weeks will again come to the fore.
"I think we showed against Widnes the maturity to get back up on the back of all the emotion of the cup semi-final win," added Gentle.
"We did that on a five-day turnaround and now we have another quick five-day turnaround but we will welcome that because it gives us longer to prepare for the final.
"The players didn't lose focus in the derby game and they won't this week."
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