Wane: We need to improve - not change - our attack

The Warriors head to the KC Stadium tonight chasing a victory which would draw them level with Hull FC – and keep alive their hopes of a top-two finish.

Their 8-6 loss to Widnes prompted a backlash in some quarters about their points-scoring ability, which has this year dropped below past marks. And while Wane admits he shares frustrations about their misfiring attack, he puts the reasons down to missing personnel throughout a season which has been marred by injuries.

Wane said: “I’m not going to sit here and say our attack has been consistently good, it’s not.

“The players are not happy. It needs to improve. We’ve not been consistent enough, and that’s down to me. I need to make sure we turn up for the big games coming up.

“I’m not an excuse-maker but it’s simple fact, we’ve missed a lot of big players this year. On top of that, we’ve had weeks upon weeks of key personnel not training, and it kills your session.

“Sam Tomkins has missed loads of training but showed the toughness to turn up for games.”

He dismissed the notion other sides have found ways to quell their threats.

“We’ve only lost one game less than Hull, so I still think it works – it must do, because we’re near the top of the comp’ and we’re busted with injuries,” he said. “We must be doing something right.”

Victory tonight would intensify the three-way battle for top-spot, with two further rounds remaining.

Wane, who has never lost at the KC Stadium, said: “I think in periods we’ve not been far off making a good go of it, and if we can put some consistency to our attack, we have a chance of finishing the year well.

We’re at where we’re at, we’re not in the middle 8s, we’re not losing game after game, we’ve just beaten Saints 25-0, so we’ve a lot to be excited about.”

Hull FC coach Lee Radford says they will adapt their style to try and combat Wigan’s aggression.

“They’re the most physical team that we come up against in the competition, and how physical they are changes the way we play,” said Radford.

“Making sure you’re not continuously running into baseball bats is important. To do that you have to put a little bit of air on the ball.”