The Knights warmed up for Friday's League Two opener against Gateshead with an 18-18 draw against Batley.

Ratcliffe said the four games against League One sides "will stand them in good stead" for the challenges to come.

"It's the performance we're putting in week in, week out and I think we've stepped a bit further to where we want to be as a club," said Ratcliffe.

The Knights salvaged a draw when a defeat looked on the cards, as Batley led 18-8 with just three minutes left.

"They've stuck in until the end," added Ratcliffe.

We'll be trying to put a performance together to beat Gateshead James Ratcliffe

"We want them to play the full 80 minutes regardless of the results, they'll look after themselves, it's the performance we're looking at and again it's been an improvement in a lot of areas and we're quite disappointed we haven't come away with a victory," he commented.

Ratcliffe knows there is still room for improvement and bemoaned the amount of yardage given away again through penalties.

"One day it's going to sink in that if you give (penalties) away at their end they are going to come up with tries," he said.

But Ratcliffe was pleased at how the younger players had coped against strong sides.

"To come up against teams who've played five, six or seven years of open-age rugby, they're having to learn really, really quickly," Ratcliffe explained.

The players will train three times during the week to prepare for the Good Friday clash with Gateshead.

"We'll be trying to put a performance together to beat Gateshead and get us off to a rolling start in the league," Ratcliffe added.

The Knights have injury worries over David March, who has a hamstring strain, and prop forward Andy Bailey, who injured his wrist.