Super League champions Wigan are now seven league matches without a win after losing to bottom of the table Leigh on Thursday night: but coach Shaun Wane insists his belief in his side has not wavered.
The Warriors could finish the weekend seven points adrift of the top four with only five games remaining in the regular season by the end of this weekend after another defeat, this time a 50-34 loss to the Centurions.
However, Wane says he remains confident in his side’s capabilities.
He said: “It’s alright people looking down their noses at us seeing us in a bad situation but I know what we’re capable of and we’ll see what happens at the end of the year.
“We are a strong group. We know the players that we have to come back (from injury) but everyone in that dressing room knows what we are capable of.
“It’s a tough one to take, conceding 50 points at Leigh, but all respect to them. We are scoring points but our goal-line defence was unacceptable. We had a chance at half-time and I thought we could get back in it. But our attitude to defending our goal-line just went in the second half and it cost us dearly.”
However, Wane did insist that his side’s form can’t be allowed to continue – they now break for their Challenge Cup quarter-final tie against Warrington next weekend.
Wane said: “It’s just very, very frustrating. It can’t carry on and it won’t carry on. We keep coming up with losses.
“I don’t want to make excuses because Leigh were good. We have got to train hard and potentially we’ve got the same team that beat Cronulla (in the World Club Championship) coming back from injury.”