Wigan Warriors owner Ian Lenagan praises the work done by Matty Peet as he targets more success for the club

At the club’s recent media day, he claimed that the Warriors currently have their best squad since 2010, and is confident more silverware can follow last season’s Challenge Cup victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Lenagan believes Peet has proved himself to be the right man for the job of head coach, after his successful first year in charge.

He said: “Because we’ve known Matt for such a long time it was not like an instant promotion.

“He worked his way up through the club.

“He actually went out to Sale for a couple of years and then came back.

“He has deserved everything he’s got, but for him to perform as he did was excellent.

“Yes, you can give someone all of the tools, but it’s still up to them how they use them, and he’s done it well.

“You can see the example with his attention to detail.

“It’s never an easy decision because you’re appointing someone for years, you can make that comparison with 59 days (for Kolo Toure) and the difficulties our friends at Wigan Athletic had.

“It’s very important who you choose as head coach.

“We felt Matt was right, and he was right to make the move to assistant and he’s done it well.

“It was fabulous at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and a great environment to see that big end full of Wigan supporters.

“We won the League Leaders trophy in 2020, but it’s not the same, we just missed out on the Grand Final.

“Getting the taste for silverware again last year; we want more.

“I’ve been a Wigan fan for 65 years now, watching actively, and to see the squad and the management group that we’ve got together is tremendous.

“I’m looking forward to the season.

“Bevan French and Jai Field have the degree of excitement of players from Henry Paul through to Martin Offiah, it’s really good to see.”

The Warriors have been based at Robin Park Arena since 2019.

Lenagan says he is proud of the multi-million pound training facility, and the different opportunities it provides.

“The fans are completely with this place,” he added.

“With this and the stadium being so close, there is the opportunity to develop it as a fan village.

“The fact that the England rugby league team trained here for the World Cup gives you an idea of how good it is.

“We are now getting the full value of it.

“I remember, 16 years ago we had four small offices under the stand, but gradually we’ve moved to a number of fantastic facilities and that’s the investment we’ve put in.”

The Warriors start their Super League campaign on February 18, when they make the trip to Craven Park to face Hull KR (K.O. 1pm).

They then welcome Wakefield Trinity to the DW Stadium in their opening home game the following week.