OPINION: Wigan Warriors' recent form has been dismal but now is not the time to overreact

There’s no hiding away from just how poor Wigan Warriors’ recent displays have been.

Since the international break, they’ve been miles off the expected standard.

They’ve lost four of their last five Super League games, and have been second best in every department during those defeats.

The recent outings against Catalans Dragons and St Helens would’ve truly stung.

Both were huge occasions, with one being the Magic Weekend and the other being the derby, with Wigan delivering in neither.

Of course there are mitigating factors, that are explanations; not excuses.

Throughout the last few months they have been hit with injuries all at once in the same areas.

Their lack of firepower off the bench was evident at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

They were probably already short in the pack heading into the campaign and did need to strengthen there, but it’d be unfair to be overly critical of the club’s recruitment when they have been hit so hard by injuries.

In recent weeks, a number of players have been welcomed back to full fitness.

Of course, this is a boost, but time is also required to slot these individuals back in accordingly.

We all know what Jai Field is capable of, but it has seemingly been a balancing act trying to figure out where to play him.

Fullback is his best position, but Bevan French has been superb there in the last few months.

Meanwhile, in the halves you’ve also got the likes of Cade Cust and Ryan Hampshire available to play alongside Harry Smith.

The key thing in the next few week’s will be to have some consistency in the spine in order to rediscover that cohesion.

Matty Peet is still a relatively new head coach at this level, and the past month has presented him with a range of new challenges, so he will be learning all of the time.

There were a few knee-jerk reactions from fans after the Saints loss, with criticism thrown at the coaches, the players and others at the club.

Now is not the time to overreact, as this unpredictable season still has a long way to go.

The table is very close at the moment, and that’s because everyone has gone through a poor run of form at some point.

There’s no denying improvements need to come quickly from the Warriors but there’s no reason why they can’t do that.

Like previously mentioned, a number of players have returned or are due to return from injury, meaning there’ll be a bit of strong competition back in the side.

The majority of this squad were part of last season’s Challenge Cup win, and will be hungry for more success.

There’s so many players that are still learning and have new levels to find- which is exciting.

Any mid-season recruitment would be a boost, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if that didn’t happen.

The current group looked impressive during the run which included wins over Leigh, St Helens and Warrington, and that’s what they need to be aiming for again.

A big few steps need to be taken, but time is on their side; in Super League at least.