Leigh manager Neil Jukes calls Centurions display against Widnes the worst of the season

Leigh boss Neil Jukes laid into his players after they produced an "awful performance" in their 36-10 defeat to fellow Super League strugglers Widnes.

Jukes watched Widnes run in seven tries on their way to racking up a 20-0 first-half lead as his Leigh side failed to match the Vikings' energy levels.

He said: "It was an awful first half. I still can't get my head around it. We had a tough week and got some good talk going so we were confident. We even spoke about this as being a cup final.

"We felt good, we trained well - everything was good but after the first set it was gone. Maybe everyone thought we were in a good place when nobody was in a good place.

"It's a bad as I've seen. It was disappointing for a game of this magnitude. We gave them too many points. I would have taken 14-0 at half-time and then we spill the ball and they score on the last play to make it 20-0.

"They did the same on 80 minutes. We have some things to fix up.

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"They dominated everything and we were chasing the game. It will be tough. We are fighting, irrespective of what competition we end up in.

"We took a lot from the Wigan game but maybe too much. We will address what's gone on here.

"That first 40 minutes was as poor as it's been this year. We will look at the video and see where we go from here."

The defeat sees the Centurions replace Widnes at the foot of the Super League table despite their fine victory over champions Wigan Warriors two weeks ago.

Leigh next travel to face the Catalan Dragons on Saturday 1 July, acutely aware they are now firmly staring at a bottom four finish.