It’s all about points for Cunningham and Saints

St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham is focusing on picking up points on a week-by-week basis, as Super League tightens up into a close battle between the top teams.

St Helens currently sit in third place, on 18 points from 14 games, three points behind Leeds in first and one behind Wigan in second.

Other teams in the top eight have also been picking up points in recent weeks, as the race towwards the Super Eights intensifies.

“We’ve just got to hang in there and pick up as many points as we can along the way,” said Cunningham.

“There’s going to be plenty more points won and lost from the top four sides, or the top eight sides. It’s so close at the minute.

“Teams beating teams every week, who two or three seasons ago you’d have never expected to.

“The competition has strengthened immensely. There’s definitely going to be plenty more points won and lost and we’d like to think that we can win more than we can lose.”

Next up for Saints is a Friday night trip across the Pennines to face Hull FC. Cunningham has faith in his team being able to cope with a challenging game.

“We’re going to be confident going into it,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tough game. Hull are in some very good form. Defensively they’re great, and they’re going to be very tough to break down.

“It’ll be a great spectacle.”

Last Friday, Saints beat League One outfit York City Knights 46-6 to claim a spot in the quarter final of the Challenge Cup.

Cunningham was pleased that his team restricted the Knights to only six points.

“I thought defensively we were really good,” he said.

“I was really pleased with what we did defensively, and that’s all you can ask of your team.

“If they can fulfill it out on the field it does make you a happy coach.

“I think we’d gone backwards slightly in that department, and we worked really hard on it.”