Leigh Leopards boss’ kind words to under-fire Sam Burgess as Warrington Wolves threat assessed

Leigh boss Adrian Lam says he ‘doesn’t envy’ Sam Burgess at the moment, but expects Warrington Wolves to come out fighting when they host the Leopards this weekend.

The Halliwell Jones Stadium was home to one of Leigh‘s most unforgettable wins in recent history back in 2023 as they beat St Helens in the Challenge Cup semi-final.

But it has never proven a happy hunting ground barring that, with the Leopards losing all seven of their previous visits, including six in Super League against Warrington.

As they make the trip to Cheshire for the first time this year on Saturday afternoon, they are preparing to face a Wolves side in disarray.

Having lost 25-12 at home against financially-stricken Salford Red Devils last weekend, chairman Stuart Middleton had to issue a statement publicly backing head coach Burgess earlier this week, which was met with plenty of backlash.

Leigh Leopards coach Adrian Lam’s kind words of sympathy to under-fire Warrington Wolves boss Sam Burgess

Wire finished third last season and have reached back-to-back Challenge Cup finals, but their performance in Super League this term has been poor enough to bring calls for Burgess’ head.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Leigh head coach Lam said: “Coaching’s a really tough thing and I don’t envy Sam and what his role is there at the moment.

“It’s hard enough to try and focus on my own job. We lost two games in a row recently and I couldn’t put my finger on it, it’s a difficult thing to do.

“You’ve got to have the backing of everyone (at the club), and he looks like he’s got that.

“If it (the Salford defeat) had happened to my team, I’d want a response, and fair enough too. As a player, you want to be able to play again as soon as you can and turn things around.

“It’ll be a physical start, and it’ll be very high intensity based, so we’re preparing for that.”

Leigh have beaten the Wolves twice this term on home soil, but know all too well how dangerous a side it is they are going up against on Saturday afternoon having stung by them in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup back in May.

Lam continued: “Every time we seem to play them, it’s within six or eight points, and it won’t be any different on Saturday afternoon.

“This week, their start’s going to be a lot more physical, they’re going to be more connected as a group and there’s been a big plea put out to respond to their performance from last week.

“As a group here, it’s exactly that we need. If we can come through that in good shape and play well, be the team that we have been for this second half of the season, then I’m sure we’ll get the result that we deserve.”

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👉 Leigh Leopards boss’ kind words to under-fire Sam Burgess as Warrington Wolves threat assessed