Brian McDermott has urged his Harlequins RL side to shrug off last weekend’s hammering at Wakefield Wildcats and refocus their efforts on trying to gatecrash the Super League play-off places.

Quins were crushed 54-12 at Belle Vue on Sunday, bringing to a shuddering halt their three-match winning streak.

But, despite having seen his side ship ten tries in the process, McDermott insisted it was time to stay positive.

He said: “We have gained a lot of momentum over the past few weeks and it would be very wrong of us to let this result deflate us in any way.

“Of course it was a poor result but those things happen and it was just one of those days.

“Everything we touched did not work and we were never at the races.

“As a former bricklayer I know that every so often you are going to lay a bad brick, but if you do that you tear the wall down and start again.

“Losing to Wakefield is not the decisive factor in our season and there will be far bigger days to come.”

In searing heat, Quins were on the back foot from the off, with tries from Tony Clubb and Luke Dorn scant consolation.

Trailing 18-6 at half-time, the Londoners wilted in the second half, conceding seven tries.

And the Harlequins coach admitted his side’s defensive performance left a lot to be desired.

McDermott added: “With the heat I always thought the side that was under pressure at the start would really suffer late on and that was us.

“The players still put in a huge amount of effort but things just seemed off defensively.

“It was an accumulation of things rather than one major fault and Wakefield just seemed fitter and stronger.”

Quins now get a weekend off due to Challenge Cup action, with their next fixture a home clash with the Crusaders.

And McDermott is hoping he will be able to welcome back the influential Chad Randall, who sat out the Wakefield hiding with a hip injury.

He added: “Normally after a game like Wakefield you would want another one the next weekend where you can set about putting things right.

“But we have a lot of players here who have played in every game, and played a lot of game time in those games and they could really do with a rest.

“The week off gives us a bit of a breather and we should go into the Crusaders game in good shape.”

Harlequins RL’s next three matches: Jun 6 Crusaders (h), 12 Leeds (h), 20 Hull KR (a)