Eels told to focus on the present

The only way for Parramatta to improve its fortunes this year is by forgetting about the next one, according to caretaker coach Jason Taylor.

The Eels, who are coming off back-to-back wins for the first time this season, are desperate to keep their slim NRL semi-final hopes alive with a win against Newcastle at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday.

Taylor, in his first mandate to players when he took over from Brian Smith mid-season, urged his players not to blame that drama or other off-field distractions for poor performances on the paddock.

And with several players contemplating their future or already signed to rival clubs, Taylor this week reminded his team not to look beyond their top priority - the Andrew Johns-led Knights.

"At the moment at this club we are concentrating on what happens between now and the end of the year," Taylor said.

"There's been a lot of talk about next year right throughout this year so far and I think it really affected the team early on.

"We've talked as a group a number of times about how people have got to work out what they're going to be doing in the future.

"They've got to spend time on it but do it away from training, do it away from the periods where you really need to be concentrating on the games that are coming up and on our footy.

"Because, regardless of what happens next year or where people are, we've got an opportunity here to really finish the season strongly and enjoy what we do."

The Eels have lost Wade McKinnon (New Zealand Warriors), John Morris (Wests Tigers), Dean Widders (South Sydney), Glenn Morrison (Bradford Bulls) Luke O'Dwyer and Matt Petersen (Titans) for next season, while Paul Stringer (retired) and Ashley Graham didn't see out the year with the Blue and Golds.

And although the club is almost certain to lose centre Brett Delaney as well, Taylor said there was much to be achieved in 2006.

"We're determined to finish the season really strongly and whether we can make the semi-finals is another story," Taylor said.

"It's still possible but we're not setting that as a goal, what we're doing is we're working hard each week and we want to play well each week.

"If we can put a few wins together maybe it will start to look a bit more possible in a few weeks time but what we do on the field between now and the end of the year is going to be positive whether we make the semi-finals or not."

While Taylor is yet to write off Parramatta's season, he has all but conceded his all-time points scoring record to Johns this weekend.

The Knights skipper needs just four points to eclipse the record of 2,107 points, set when Taylor broke Daryl Halligan's mark at the same venue in 2001.

"That would be nice (to keep them to nil), if he had to wait until the following week to get the record," Taylor said.

"They'd be pretty high hopes, those ones ... but, yeah, we can dream."

© 2006 AAP