Castleford Tigers coach Daryl Powell has insisted his side are not in awe of Friday’s opponents Wigan – and believes his side should be highly motivated to get a result on Friday night.
The Tigers face Shaun Wane’s men on Friday knowing that a win is likely essential to keep their fading top four hopes alive.
They have lost all three games against the Warriors this season, but Powell insisted that they are two closely-matched sides when it matters.
“They’ve beaten us three times but we’ve been competitive,” he told TotalRL.
“There’s not much between the teams in terms of potential – it’s just about what happens on the day. We’re certainly not in awe of Wigan, that’s for sure, not by any stretch of the imagination.
“We don’t believe that they’ve got the right to beat us either. We’ll be going out there trying to fight fire with fire; that’s what you’ve got to do when you play Wigan.”
Powell also laughed off claims that his side have nothing to play for in 2016 despite being marooned in mid-table.
He said: “I keep hearing people say we’ve got nothing to play for; it’s the biggest load of poppycock going if I’m being honest. Every game of rugby league you play, you’re privileged: and we’re privileged to be associated with this club.
“We’re always looking to make a mark on the history of this club, and we haven’t quite managed to do it yet. We didn’t do it in 2014 despite getting to the Challenge Cup final and we didn’t win anything last year. That’s what we want to do; we’re not here to sit around and look at these so-called big clubs, we’re after chasing them.”
When the two sides met at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle earlier in the year, Wigan coach Shaun Wane said afterwards he felt his side performed at a ‘four or five out of ten’ – something Powell took offence to.
And the Tigers coach believes that his side need no motivation to beat the Warriors on Friday.
“I’ve said before that wasn’t a great thing to say, and from our point of view I think we should be highly motivated,” he said.
“I’m hoping the way Wigan go on a bit brings the best out of us.”
