Wigan have four options on a new head coach

Correspondent
DW Stadium, Wigan
Current assistant Matty Peet is thought to be the front-runner to take over from Lam, who will leave the Warriors at the end of the season, but Lenagan told a fans forum that is one of four options.

“There are all sorts of rumours around but we have a choice of four different directions that we as Wigan could go in,” he said.

“We could go back to Shaun Wane obviously, we could select a person who’s on the staff currently, we could go to Australia as we did with Michael Maguire and the final option is to appoint a UK head coach.”

If Peet lands the job, Wane is expected to return in a part-time role, combining it with his England position in the run-up to the delayed World Cup next autumn.

“We have a great degree of respect for Shaun,” Lenagan added. “There is always the possibility at some time that Shaun will be back with Wigan, particularly not as head coach, because you don’t go back in that respect.

“But Shaun could easily have an involvement at Wigan in the future. He has a great degree of quality and talent that we accept and understand particularly in terms of coaching but also in terms of a lot of business skills now that he didn’t have before.”

Shaun Wane spent eight seasons as Wigan coach between 2011-18

Lam was meant to be a stop-gap appointment following the departure of Wane at the end of 2018 but stayed on for three seasons following a U-turn by former Wigan scrum-half Shaun Edwards, who was accused at the forum of letting the club down.

“At the end, Shaun wasn’t even communicating with us,” said Wigan chief executive Kris Radlinksi.

“He asked us to leave him and not contact him during the Six Nations.

“But he was talking to the media and we were not allowed to defend ourselves.

“Personally, I think he let the chairman down more than people know. And it’s been eating up at me because Ian of all people didn’t deserve that.”

READ: Six potential candidates to be next Wigan head coach

Meanwhile, Radlinski has revealed that full-back Zak Hardaker’s future at the Warriors is in some doubt.

The former Leeds and Castleford player is under contract for 2022 but Radlinski told the forum he has moved back to Yorkshire following the ending of a rental agreement on a house owned by Joel Tomkins.

“He has said to us that he is finding the travelling difficult which he would – we all know the M62 – and his partner would like to move back to Yorkshire,” said Radlinski.

“This is a very live situation and we’re just talking it through. I made it very clear that everything’s on Wigan’s terms here.

“The club and me personally have invested a hell of a lot of time into Zak and we gave him an opportunity when nobody else would. Laying it all on the table, that’s where we are at the moment in time.”

Lenagan told the forum the club currently have just £73,000 left on the salary cap after making Leigh centre Iain Thornley their fourth signing for 2022 and revealed the Warriors offered George Williams the biggest contract in the clubs’ 149-year history but were outbid by Warrington.