The Tigers boss was disappointed with the response of a section of supporters following last weekend's Powergen Challenge Cup exit at Halifax.
Some fans turned on the players following the 23-16 defeat - Castleford's first reverse of the season.
But Woods is refusing to press the panic button and believes the visit of Rochdale offers the perfect opportunity for Cas to get back on track.
After losing their opening Northern Rail Cup match, Bobbie Goulding's Hornets won their next five to secure top spot in group two, beat Batley in their opening National League One game and pushed Super Leaguers Salford City Reds to the wire in a fourth round Challenge Cup clash on Sunday.
Said Woods: "A tough game like Rochdale could be just what we need. We're not slitting our throats but it will be a measure of the men to see how they come back from Sunday.
"I'm glad we're not facing one of the weaker sides where you can play bad and get away with it. Rochdale have put some really good results together and if we don't pick it up, we'll be on the end of another loss.
"We'll get a tape this week, do our homework and go from there. It should be a good game but the main thing is that we get our game right. The players feel they've let themselves and the fans down - they weren't happy with their display against Halifax. But we've had a good session this week, we've talked about things and I'm sure we'll pick it up.
"I was more disappointed than some fans started bagging the players, saying that they were rubbish. I don't think that was called for.
"For the last eight weeks they've been real happy and it's great that they support us when we're winning but they've got to be there when we have the occasional bad game too."
Woods believes some supporters may have under-estimated the strength of rival National League One sides.
"We knew we wouldn't go through the season unbeaten - we knew how hard this season would be. It's the supporters who've been saying we'd win the competition easily but we never thought that at all.
"Every team in National One is going to want to beat Castleford and every team will lift 100 per cent. That means teams playing them the week after will get a benefit because they've got to try and lift themselves again, which can be hard to do. We beat York in a big game they got themselves up for - the week after they got beat by Hunslet."
"It's early days. We always knew it was going to be a tough competition and we know we've got to work hard for it. But it's not all about winning the competition, it's about winning the Grand Final. We're working hard to get there and once we're there, then it's a different ball-game."
Woods believes Castleford lacked desire against Halifax, who weathered early pressure to open a 14-8 interval lead. Two tries in the opening 12 minutes of the second half gave the home side vital breathing space and Michael Shenton's second try of the game in the final minute was only consolation.
"I thought we played pretty poor," said Woods. "It's definitely the worst we've played this season but it's been coming - we haven't been great for a few weeks. Halifax played some good football. They had more commitment, more will-to-win and more passion. But as bad as we were, they only beat us by nine points.
"We started the game well, we had all the early field position but couldn't convert it. We were still in it at half-time but we hardly had much ball for the first 20 minutes of the half so we did 50 per cent more defence than they did and that will take a toll on any team. We still looked fitter and finished well but could not come up with the goods.I thought Adam Watene and Aaron Smith were our best two. Aaron did a mountain of work in defence, Adam was our only forward going forward. Pryce and Shenton did a good job on the wings but there weren't too many others."