Huddersfield boss Rick Stone says he is not bothered what message the Giants will send out if they manage to end Wakefield’s unbeaten start on Sunday.
The Giants head across West Yorkshire to take on their local rivals, who are the joint leaders of Super League after winning their opening three games.
Wakefield have registered wins over Salford, Hull KR and Catalans – the three clubs currently in the bottom four with the Giants in the early knockings of the campaign.
Stone’s side has shown plenty of promise so far, but he isn’t concerning himself with the perceptions of others as his side goes in search of a second win this year.
“I’m looking for two competition points, I’m not bothered what message that sends as long as we get that.
“We’re confident in our own ability, we’re happy to keep our own aspirations and goals internal. We know we have some expectations on ourselves and the two competition points are as much of a carrot as anything at this point.
“I’ve got plenty of respect for Wakefield, they’re a dangerous team and they challenge you, they don’t mind playing some rugby and asking some questions. On their day they can be as potent as anyone in the competition.”
Huddersfield’s gradual improvement continues to show in patches, and Stone believes his side will begin to perform at a higher level more consistently if they keep showing the fundamental elements he demands on the field.
“There’s a little bit to go before I suggest that (we’ve reached a new level),” he said.
“The effort in the last few weeks, and the intent, energy and enthusiasm have all been there. We’ve just got to match that with execution, be a bit more clinical with how we go about things.
“There’s plenty of signs in some of the measurements we take every week that we’re heading in the right direction and in the right place. There are a few little things we have to tinker with to get it right consistently, but first and foremost you ask your team to bring effort, energy and compete for 80 minutes.
“We’ve just got to couple that with fine-tuning our execution and a bit more smarts game wise, then we’ll make ourselves hard to beat.”
