Wigan Warriors coach Shaun Wane admits he and his whole squad were jealous watching Hull win the Challenge Cup last weekend – but says it will motivate his team to lift some silverware of their own in the coming weeks.
Wigan resume their quest for a double tonight when they take on Widnes in the first Super League game following the cup final.
They can keep up the pressure on league leaders Hull with a win, and Wane insists that his side are in a good place ahead of the final four rounds of the season.
“It was a lot easier handling this two-week break on the back of a win (against St Helens), it’s been a good place to be,” he told the club’s official website.
“We know what we need to build on and there’s been a lot practising things that we need to be better at so we’ve got a lot of work into the players.
“The attitude of the players has been very much like mine, we’re a bit jealous about what Hull did on Saturday but that builds us up for the back end of the season as we look to get something out of it.”
The two sides have one win apiece against each other this year – but both on each others’ home grounds. Widnes’ win marked the first time in 26 games Wigan did not win at the DW Stadium, and Wane says he’s full of respect for Denis Betts’ side.
“They beat us fair and square, they were very good that day but then we went to their place and won,” he said.
“I have a lot of respect for what they do, they play a good brand of Rugby League- very exciting. Their halves are playing really well. They’ve had a week off and seem to have got quite a few players back so they’re very strong.
“They’ve got some good players, lots of threats on the edges and their pivots are very strong. Hanbury has some gas out of the back too so we just need to defend like we did against St Helens.”