Cowboys players obliged to get coach Neil Henry over the line Source: Townsville Bulletin COWBOYS players admit their spluttering campaign has failed Neil Henry and say they owe the under-siege coach a late finals charge. Henry has endured persistent speculation about his future, most recently last Sunday when a Sydney report alleged he would be terminated by his club's board this week. That appears unlikely after the 24-4 disposal of Cronulla, but the board will almost certainly rescind the 12-month extension they granted Henry in March if the side misses the playoffs. Queensland ace Brent Tate says player attitudes, not Henry's structures, are to blame for the Cowboys languishing in 13th place. While the Cowboys are only one win adrift of the top eight, Tate says they must improve markedly to seriously challenge premiership pacesetters Souths and Melbourne. "I feel as though we have let Neil down a bit," he said. He isn't the one out there dropping balls and missing tackles, so I think as a player you have to take responsibility for it. I don't know why our results haven't been there. But if we weren't playing for him, we wouldn't be defending the way we are (in their past two consecutive wins over the Dragons and Sharks). We've got a long, long way to go before we are in the top eight and before we are in the mix, but they are steps in the right direction. I can feel the confidence starting to build. Certainly after the Dragons game and against (the Sharks), the belief is starting to snowball ... hopefully we can go on a run from here. A crucial five-week stretch will make or break the Cowboys' season. It starts with a road trip to Canberra this Sunday before a home showdown against Manly without their Origin stars on Monday week. The Cowboys then have a bye weekend before back-to-back home games against the Broncos and competition leaders South Sydney. Halfback Robert Lui says the squad genuinely believes the Cowboys can be a finals force, but admits they must lift to keep Henry in his job. The Cowboys must win six of their last nine games to make the top eight, but Henry said finals permutations are the least of their concerns. Chasing a third consecutive win on Sunday, back-rower Gavin Cooper said the Cowboys were far from satisfied. "We definitely still have a lot to work on," he said. When we stick to a game plan we know we can break teams open. But to put an 80-minute effort together, we're still a fair way off.