KEIRON’S FUEL WAS THE FLAK
KEIRON CUNNINGHAM insists he was never close to cracking under the pressure before St Helens ended their three-match losing run.
Successive defeats to Leigh, Wakefield and Hull saw Saints struggling at the wrong end of the Super League table, before moraleboosting wins over Catalans and Warrington.
With key close-season signing Matty Smith fit and slotting in well against the Wolves, the mood around the club has lifted.
And Cunningham maintains there was never any reason to panic despite the tough start.
He said: “People have been calling me stuff since I was 17 – I’m used to it. I use it as fuel, it motivates me and it’s why I get out of bed in a morning.
“I’ve been called far worse things than what I have the last couple of weeks.
“The external pressure can be quite great and people respond differently.
“It’s a long old season and we knew there was plenty of games to be won and lost along the way.
“We can see the bigger picture in this joint. We knew we were heading in the right direction and knew we weren’t far off.
“We just put two poor first-half performances together against two really willing sides in Leigh and Wakefield and didn’t get the results we should have.”
Salford sit one place above Saints with four wins – but Cunningham insists he is not surprised by their progress under coach Ian Watson and assistant Martin Gleeson.
Cunningham added: “I always thought they would do well this year. I’m good mates with ‘Glees’ and you could tell the way things were heading.
“They have a good conditioner, good coaches and players who want to play together.
“It doesn’t matter what names are in the dressing room they will all be fighting hard for each other. They will be a good test for us.”
ENGLAND will tour Australia and New Zealand in 2019 and there will be a Nines World Cup the same year in plans unveiled by the Rugby League International Federation.