Wigan Warriors coach Shaun Wane watched his side suffer their worst league defeat in over a decade on Sunday, but he insists he “wasn’t stressed one little bit”.
The Warriors, without a whole host of front-line players, went down 62-0 at Wakefield, their heaviest loss in the league since the 70-0 thumping at Leeds in 2005.
Yet Wane refused to press the panic button after the game.
“I’m not stressed about it, not one little bit in the slightest,” he insisted.
“I know what we have and where we’re at, and what we’ve been through.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Wakefield – if they want to book their coaches to London, let them book them.
“But I know what I’ve got in my club, how we can play and that result doesn’t stress me in the slightest.”
The result immediately drew comparisons with the Warriors’ heavy loss to Catalans last season, but Wane was quick to distance himself from that talk.
“Do not confuse that with the Catalans defeat,” he said.
“It’s not in the same ballpark. I went to Catalans with a strong team and a fit side – so I’m not stressed at all. I have belief in my players.
“There’s no excuses though – the injury list is what it is. We lacked energy and were lethargic.
“I knew we’d be up against it because they’re playing well – they were outstanding in attack and defended really well all afternoon.”