DARWEN skipper Mark Friend is confident his side can bounce back to winning ways this weekend as they look to take a step closer to Lancashire Knockout glory.

The Towers have suffered successive Lancashire League defeats to put a dent in their title ambitions, but after a trip to Haslingden in the league tomorrow they host Rochdale in the last eight of the LCB Knockout on Sunday.

A win would set-up a semi-final against Netherfield or Ormskirk and despite recent defeats to Todmorden and Accrington, Friend has reminded his side they still have plenty to play for in 2018.

“We need to be prepared for a lot of competitive games at the end of this season and next season if we finish in the top half, which we should do,” he said.

“We want to play in big games and there’s two this weekend. We’re two wins away from a final in the Lancs Knockout.

“There’s still a lot to play for in our season, the guys understand that and we’re going to try and win every game possible from now until the end of the season.”

Friend added: “We’re yet to play Rochdale, it’s a new challenge for us. Everyone is going into that game blind, which may work in our favour.

“We’ve had a look at their scores, but we tend to concentrate on what we can do rather than what other teams can do.

“We need to bounce back from a couple of league defeats so we go again on Saturday and hopefully get back to winning ways before Sunday’s game.”

Darwen won’t be at full strength in either fixture this weekend, but Friend is confident that those coming in can step up to the plate.

“We’ve got a few absentees with work and family commitments and a couple of holidays,” the captain said.

“We won’t be at full strength either day, but the sides we put out will be as strong as we can get.

“The guys filling in have stepped up and will be well worth their spot.”

And after the 36-run defeat to Accrington last weekend, Friend knows there are improvements to come.

“Everyone knows that we’ve all got improvements to make, we are by no means perfect but we try and improve every game. Hopefully it’s a minor setback in the season,” he said.