Watson doesn’t want Salford season to fizzle out

James Gordon

Salford coach Ian Watson is hoping his side can get out of their blip and challenge for the Super League play-offs.

The Red Devils have lost their last five games, including last month’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Wigan and their Super 8s opener at Hull.

They haven’t tasted victory since a 36-18 home win over Huddersfield at the start of July, and will want to put that right when Castleford visit the AJ Bell Stadium on Friday night.

Watson told the club’s official website: Everyone has these blips in a tough, long season. Some of our guys have played more games than they’ve ever done.

“We’re really pleased with where some of them have got to, but you need to have a pride in what you do and finishing the season strongly will show what pride we have in ourselves as a group.

“This is the big lesson for our group and for me as a coach. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position now but what counts is what we do from here. It’s all about learning.

On the journey we are on this is brilliant for us moving forward, but every week we need to make sure we compete. We don’t want this season to just fizzle out.”

Salford secured a top four finish in the regular season, despite a final day defeat to Leigh.

They are just a point behind St Helens who currently sit in fourth place, having become the first team to beat Castleford at home all season.