Warrington Wolves boss Tony Smith insists he has not sought assurances over his future – but concedes the League Leaders’ Shield is all but gone
Warrington have lost the first six games of their Super League campaign
TONY Smith insists he has not sought reassurance from Warrington’s owner and chairman over his future.
But he believes they can forget about winning the League Leaders’ Shield already, with 24 matches left before it is dished out.
And captain Chris Hill admits players have had the ‘kick up the arse’ they needed after their shocking start.
The Wolves sit bottom of Super League having lost all six of their league games this season.
However, the former England boss revealed he has not spoken to chairman Stephen Broomhead or owner Simon Moran with fears for his job.
He believes they understand the short-term pain they are going through after long-term gain of becoming a Super League force.
Smith said: “They understand what we’re going through. They’re hurting as well but the good thing about the people that I work for is they’re not just reactionary - they understand the big picture, and understand these things can happen within our sport or any sport.
“Sports 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 clubs that is thriving and heading in a really strong direction.
“As a club we strive hard to handle success with dignity and I think we’ve achieved that in recent times.
“I’m also very proud of this club that we handle defeat or adversity with dignity as well, and that’s a great example for a lot of our young people growing up, and our society.
“Just because you go through a tough time doesn’t mean you throw all your toys out of the pram, and it’s important you have belief in what you’re doing and in people as well. Stability within sport is proven to be one of the biggest asset of most successful clubs.”
While Smith insists he is not under pressure from people above him, he did concede their hopes of retaining the League Leaders’ Shield, which gave them a place in this year’s World Club Series, are gone.
He added: “There are some bigger goals that we all set in our camps and pre-season, and there’s probably only one of those goals that is now unlikely in our minds, 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.”
While hopes of the League Leaders’ Shield are gone, Smith believes Warrington showed they are coming back to form even though they lost 31-6 at St Helens.
England prop Hill has come back from a shoulder operation but even he admitted after losing at Leigh that a ‘kick up the arse’ was needed.
And he revealed that has been delivered as he lifted the lid on his frustrations at the season so far ahead of today’s test with Hull.
Hill said: “People have had it and everyone should all have one. This is our profession, our livelihood at the end of the day.
“We’ve had a few honest chats where some of the lads might not have liked what was being said but they had to happen. It wasn’t no holds barred, it was just a few home truths about where we’re at.
“But this is our job. If you’re not performing in sales or whatever line of work you’re in, you’d be out on your ear or getting a serious telling off from your line manager, this is exactly the same.
“We did need a kick up the backside but we’re beating ourselves at the minute. It’s strange but Ben Westwood mentioned that in 2009, we lost our first six or seven then won the Challenge Cup.
“I’ve been through it with Leigh at the bottom of the Championship and Kurt Gidley has been through it with Newcastle in the NRL.
“While it’s not an experience you want, it does come in valuable at these times and we’re probably training harder now than we were last year.
“We’re slowly showing improvement and you can’t fault the effort but we’re killing ourselves really.
“And we can’t play a better team than Hull this week. We almost see it as a point to prove with bottom knocking over a team at the top, and why not?”
