Lam: Disappointed with discipline

• Adrian Lam shares his thoughts on Wigan’s defeat to St Helens on Friday night.
• Lam: “I know tonight was a real disappointment and we didn’t give ourselves a chance but I have confidence in the group that we will rally.”
• FT | Wigan Warriors 2-26 St Helens.

Adrian Lam says Wigan Warriors ‘didn’t give themselves a chance’ against St Helens on Friday night as the Cherry and Whites fell to defeat in the Derby at the DW Stadium.

Two tries in each half saw Saints claim victory which saw Wigan suffer their second defeat in two weeks in the Betfred Super League.

Speaking to the press after the result, Lam admitted his side were their own worst enemy and that discipline was an issue, with three sin-bins taking place throughout the 80 minutes – two for John Bateman and one for Willie Isa.

“We attacked poorly and didn’t give ourselves an opportunity.” the head coach said. “I was disappointed with the discipline. I love emotion but you have to have intelligence with that and it came back to hurt us. We didn’t manage the process.

“It was a tough game – we didn’t have the start we wanted to. We took the penalty to make it 2-6 [in the first half] and on the next set we got tackled into touch which is not who we want to be. Everything we tried we were frustrated and it looked like we didn’t manage the game properly.

“We looked a bit clunky but you are going to be like that with some many changes in recent weeks with players coming back in and others out. We just need to get some cohesion.”

Despite the defeat, Lam wanted to remain positive about the belief he has in the players, stating that there is confidence to keep fighting for the rest of the 2021 campaign.

He said: “I’ve got belief in the players. I know tonight was a real disappointment and we didn’t give ourselves a chance but I have confidence in the group that we will rally and we will get it right in the next few weeks. I know the players are positive about what we can do for the the rest of the year.

“The effort of the players is there – they’re having a dig. Our defence was brutal and aggressive at times which is what we want to see, but there wasn’t enough of it.”

Lam ended on praising the Warriors fans who turned out in their numbers, with 16,319 in attendance at the DW on Friday night.

“We love our fans. I know there will be a lot of disappointed people. We understand and we will address it. I’d like to thank them all for turning out tonight.”

Next up for the Warriors is Leeds Rhinos in Retro Round at the DW Stadium on Wednesday 25th August (7:45pm K.O.). All ticket prices revert back to 1995 when the Club was based at Central Park and it costs just £10 for Adults (Over-16s) and only £5 for Under-16s.

Get your tickets now by clicking HERE, by heading down to the DW Stadium Ticket Office (open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) or by calling 01942 311111.