Francis Cummins: The club has got to unite
Widnes interim coach Francis Cummins says the club need full support from their fans after they were booed off the field following their loss to London.
The Vikings lost their 17th league game on the spin as they fell short to a 21-20 defeat to the Broncos in the first round of the Qualifiers on Thursday.
Boos rang around the Halton Stadium when the full-time hooter sounded, but Cummins insists the club needs the backing of its fans as they fight to avoid relegation.
He said: “People pay money so it is their choice [whether they boo or not].
“One thing for sure is that this club has got to unite and we can’t start pointing fingers. People talk about not bringing people in, but the club have done really well on recruitment recently.
“We need the support, we don’t need the opposite. It is not through the lack of trying from the lads. You can see the confidence drain out of them but that is the situation we are in. We are going to need all the help we can get now.
“We are gutted about the result. I thought we were well improved in what we did. We looked the stronger of the teams but then we had a lapse in concentration. As daft as it seems, there were parts where we looked better than what we’ve been previously.”
Widnes travel to Salford next Saturday and with trips to Toronto and Toulouse also coming up, Cummins insists the team need to quickly regain their confidence.
He added: “They are all key games now but the loss makes it that little bit tougher.
“We have been training well but we will review the game and we have got to start building the players back up. It is not going to get any better if we sulk or if we throw the towel in.
“There is negativity all around us at the moment and that is caused by us. Sometimes you have to circle the wagons and make sure that you don’t make the same mistakes again.
“We need to take what we’ve improved on but there are a few players who need to be a lot better.”
Cummins added that Wales international Lloyd White could return from injury for the Vikings next week.