Tony Smith has insisted he has had no discussions about his future as Warrington coach as the club go in search of their first points of the season at the seventh attempt later today.
The Wolves remain the only side in the competition without a point to their name and going into this weekend, they already sat 10 points adrift of the play-off places, as well as five adrift of the top eight ahead of this afternoon’s game with Hull FC.
But Smith has insisted his sole focus is reviving the Wolves’ fortunes, not his own position. When asked if he’s spoken to senior board members about his role, he said: “No, they understand what we’re going through and they’re hurting as well.
“The good thing about the people that I work for is that they’re not reactionary; they understand the big picture and understand these things can happen within our sport. People can lose form and get it back, and they’ve got faith in that. They also see the big picture of where we’ve come from to what we are as a club: not just results, there are so many aspects of our club that is thriving and heading in a really strong direction.”
Smith has also insisted that his side can still win the Grand Final this season but concedes that, with a 10-point gap to bridge already, repeating last year’s League Leaders’ Shield triumph is now beyond the Wolves in 2017.
“There are some bigger goals that we all set in our camps and pre-season, and there’s probably only one of those that is now unlikely in our minds, and that’s being the league leaders. We’re not going to win that now I don’t think – we’d have to have an incredible run. But that’s the only one that’s dashed for sure.”
Their meeting with Hull on Saturday is the first clash between the sides since the final round of last season, when the Wolves won at the KCOM Stadium to finish top ahead of FC. Lee Radford’s side have started this season in a similar vein to last, sitting joint-top with one defeat to their name all season heading into this weekend, and Smith concedes it will be a tough test for his side.
“They’ve been solid,” he said. “They’ve got a good pack and some great players – they’re a dangerous team. I don’t wish injury on anybody, but hopefully the loss of Danny Houghton plays into our favour a little – but we can’t rely on injuries, we have to take care of our own business.”