CHESTER need to find a ruthless streak quickly this season, says head coach Jan Van Deventer.

The club’s new National League Two North campaign got off to a stuttering start with a narrow 25-19 defeat at Sheffield Tigers.

Head coach Van Deventer felt his side lacked a clinical edge in the contest and insists that any similar lapses will be ruthlessly punished this season.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash at Caldy, he said: “It was a disappointing performance from us and we came away with a disappointing result.

"Their tries and best opportunities generally came from turnover balls deep in their attacking third and they punished those handling errors each time.

“I felt like we dominated in terms of possession and the chances we created and were in control.The scoreline doesn’t really reflect that and it feels like we’ve left four points behind in our first match.”

Chester will look to bounce back at Caldy, who began their campaign with a win at Hinckley.

And Van Deventer insists the Wirral club will have a point to prove this season following their relegation from National League One last term.

He added: “It’s going to be tough. After dropping out of National One I’m sure Caldy will be looking to dominate this league now. Whenever we’ve played there in recent seasons it’s been a really close-fought game and I’m sure it’ll be tight again on Sunday.

“As a group we had a really good pre-season and got a lot of positive work done.We’ve not quite hit our stride yet but I’m sure we’ll see the benefits of that work in the games ahead. But we know we have to do better in converting pressure into points.”

Other National League Two North fixtures: Loughborough v Hinckley; Otley v Huddersfield; Sedgley Park v Preston Grasshoppers; Hull v Tynedale; Luctonians v Stourbridge; Scunthorpe v Sheffield Tigers.