St Helens coach Justin Holbrook has called on his side to utilise the momentum they have by all-but sealing a place in the Super League play-offs tonight.
Should the Saints win at the AJ Bell Stadium, only a Wigan win by an extraordinary margin at Wakefield on Saturday could completely knock them out of the top four on points difference.
It is a remarkable recovery from the Saints, who were dubbed by many to have no chance of the Super League title when Holbrook took charge in May.
But after back-to-back wins against Wakefield and Huddersfield, Holbrook has called on his side to finish the job tonight.
“Going into the last round knowing that we’ve finally got it in our own hands, it’s obviously a much better position to be in, that’s for sure,” said Holbrook. “It’s a good feeling.”
“Obviously winning our last two helps that but even in the games we’ve lost I still felt we’ve been playing well. You need that momentum at this time of the year.”
Holbrook’s Saints face a Salford side who, on the face of it at least, have little to play for.
Their top-four hopes are over, but the St Helens coach insists that they can still not afford to take Ian Watson’s side, who have impressed so many this year, lightly.
“Obviously it’s better that they can’t make the four but I don’t think it’s an opportunity to take them lightly,” said Holbrook, whose side have put together back-to-back victories to rekindle their Grand Final hopes.
“Castleford and Leeds have shown that, they’ve been delivering every week knowing that they’re going to be in the four.
“We’ve got a big game to play on Thursday and that’s what our focus is on. We want to go there and play well.”
Holbrook has named an unchanged squad for the game tonight.
