IT’S safe to say that Wakefield Trinity winger Tom Lineham didn’t enjoy himself at the West Yorkshire club in 2022.
After playing the first three games of the season, Lineham suffered a bad injury.
But, on his return, the winger – also dubbed the ‘Flying Pig’ – went on loan to Featherstone Rovers and now he has admitted that he was not a fan of the training methods and tactics employed by former Wakefield boss Willie Poching.
“I played the first three games and got quite a bad injury,” Lineham told League Express. “It was a partial ACL tear that could have gone at any point. I came back perhaps not in tip top shape and shouldn’t have come back at that point.
“I was struggling with the systems we had, the tactics we had or lack of and I asked if I could leave. I really wasn’t enjoying it and I was thinking I could leave and come back at a later date.
“I had two years left so I was always going to return, unless they were just going to build half a stand! It was either me or the stand!
“I just think there was a lack of clarity. We have systems now and everyone is on the same page, everyone knows what their role and system is and the roles of others around you.”
Lineham believes that training hard and intense is what training should look like, but the lack of that in 2022 was one of the major reasons as to why Trinity fell so short for three-quarters of the season.
“Last year it was hope for the best and people took easy options to cover themselves. We never trained with any intensity or competitiveness,” Lineham continued.
“We were never on the field! We never got to practice and that’s not me, I like to be out on the field and be pushed hard.
“I like it to be intense and to be pushed hard. I want to win and I’ll even try and cheat to win!
“If it’s uncontested or unopposed and the training session has been planned on the drive in I’ll know. I need to be stimulated the whole way.”
That being said, Lineham is a massive fan of the current coaching set-up at Belle Vue, with Mark Applegarth installing a great environment.
“The pre-season has been very long, it’s been a tough one and I think we needed that. We had a bit of an easy one last year and you know how that went.
“We’ve got a revamped team, a lot of new people and coaching staff. We needed extra time to embed that, but it’s been a breath of fresh air.”
