Plenty of respect on show between Wigan and York ahead of Challenge Cup tie

Lam said: “A big focus for us this week is just making sure… the word ‘respect’ comes to mind, for the competition, for our opposition and for ourselves.

“We know it’s going to be a tough day, I don’t think many people are giving York much of a chance, which is unfair, and I think York will thrive off that.

“In regards to rugby league, it (York) is a city, a team, that’s heading in the right direction and great for our sport.”

York will be without former Wakefield captain Danny Kirmond for the match, but head coach Ford will be able to turn to experienced campaigners Ben Jones-Bishop, Adam Cuthbertson and Ryan Atkins to guide his injury-hit Knights.

Ford said: “It’s a great honour. Wigan are famous club, famous players and I grew up watching Adrian play for Wigan so we’re really excited by it and looking forward to the challenge.

“We applied for Super League because we wanted to play games against teams like Wigan week in and week out, but we are aware that brings a challenge and the ups and downs when you play clubs of that ability. It’s an opportunity for us to grow our reputation as an organisation.”