Betts keeps calm as Vikings top table

Widnes coach Denis Betts is refusing to get carried away with his team’s current lofty position at the top of Super League.

His focus is now shifting towards to the testing and busy Easter period, after which he thinks he will have a truer pictue of his team’s capabilities.

“It’s one of those where you don’t want to get carried away with it, we’re still very, very early [in the season],” he said.

“Cas struggled to win their first two or three games last year, and they came on pretty strong towards the end.

“There are sides who are going to get personnel back, and they’re going to get better and better as the season rolls on.

“The challenge we set ourselves was that we wanted a big start, we wanted to be consistent, so they’re the things we’re highlighting at the moment.

“The table doesn’t lie. The fact is that we’ve had a good start.

“But that can all be undone over a matter of weeks, when the games start coming thick and fast as they will over Easter.

“Then you’ll get an idea of where you sit in the table, when you get through that real tough month.”

The Vikings beat Hull KR last week, and this Thursday evening welcome the Robins’ neighbours Hull FC to the Select Security Stadium.

Playing on a Thursday rather than a Friday offers Betts some additional challenge when it comes to preparing his players.

“It takes away a little bit of recovery period, and how to tidy up the side and get some work into the players,” he explained.

“But we’ve done a lot of work in pre-season, we’ve identified our strengths and what we need to be doing consistently every single week.

“Then it’s about making sure that the players are in a good place, that they’re commited and healthy to play as well as they possibly can.”