‘We are under the cosh’ - Paul Wellens opens up on St Helens’ struggles

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens is already discovering that life at the pinnacle of Rugby League isn’t always a bed of roses.

Saints, who are seeking an unprecedented five Grand Final victories on the trot this season, have won only half of their opening 10 Betfred Super League outings and it’s a record they will want to erase from the memory as soon as possible.

Injuries and suspensions have played a part in their teething problems but after an unexpected and confidence-boosting World Club Challenge triumph over NRL champions Penrith Panthers in Australia in February, fans were expecting the winning machine to rumble on, but a spanner has been thrown into the works, if only temporarily.

It’s far from a crisis at this stage of the competition, especially when teams are only really jockeying for positions ahead of the play-offs and there’s still a great many games to play.

But at the same time, Saints will need to draw a line under some of their recent performances and whip up a spell of genuine consistency when fifth-placed Salford Red Devils visit the Totally Wicked Stadium on Saturday in front of Channel 4 viewers (kick-off 1pm).

Wellens will be demanding a higher level of handling and consistency from his players after they crumbled to a 24-12 defeat at the Catalans Dragons last time out.

He said "We’ve got to give Catalans credit, they played with a real effort and intensity. At the same time we were massive contributors to our own downfall, particularly around the way we attacked.

"We came with a plan to have a bit of ball movement but as the game went on we became a little reckless and started to throw passes that were almost Hail Marys and started to chance things that weren’t there.

"It was out of character for us and a very frustrating night all in all. We are under the cosh a bit at the moment and we can’t just play our way out of trouble. Sometimes you have to take the tough carries, kick long and chase your defence, they are the things that have made this team so successful in recent times."