Force want to prove Graham wrong

Editor

Force boss Michael Foley has reacted to criticism from Reds coach Richard Graham ahead of their fixture in Perth on Saturday.

Western Force boss Michael Foley has reacted to criticism from Reds counterpart Richard Graham ahead of the teams' clash in Perth on Saturday.

Graham, who was the Force's coach from 2010 to 2012, said the Force weren't renowned for handling pressure.

But Foley hit back on Friday.

“I guess Richard would understand pressure with the position his team's in at the moment,” he told AAP.

Foley didn't want to get ahead of himself when asked if his team were chasing a bonus point victory against the Reds which could mean their final league match, against the Brumbies will become a shootout for one of the play-off places.

“I don't know that we are necessarily thinking about that up front, we just have to win the game first and see what happens after that,” he said.

“If you go into games talking about taking a bonus point out of it, sometimes you underestimate the opposition.”

The Force have been the tournament's surprise package this season and Foley believes his charges can bounce back from last weekend's 40-14 loss to the Blues by beating the Reds.

“All you can do is try and identify what some of the issues are and then work on them,” Foley said.

“One of the things about our guys this year is that we've had some bumps in the road whilst it's been a good season. But they've always responded really well.”