WANE WILL BE HOPING FOR A HIP HIP HOORAY

Wigan coach must cheer on his team from a hospital bed

WIGAN coach Shaun Wane will watch today’s crucial Catalans clash from a hospital bed as he bids to take the Warriors on a late charge to the Grand Final.

The defending champions started the weekend six points behind the topfour spot they need to defend their Super League title.

Wane (below) has set his own target of winning all of their remaining 10 matches to make the semi-finals.

But the long-serving Wigan boss will have his influence today restricted to phone calls to Perpignan, as he recovers from hip surgery he will have in the morning – a legacy of his own playing career.

Not that the inconvenience will distract him from the ultimate goal of reaching the top four.

Wane said: “My players have won some big pressure games over the years and every game now until the end of the Super Eights is must-win – end of.

“The players recognise that and you could tell that by the way they celebrated after Widnes.

“My thought-process is that we have to win every game, no question.

“That’s what I said to the players. We have to prepare the best we can and we’re nailing every day with every detail. How they eat, how long we’re stretching – every detail is covered. I like that challenge because it makes us a bit more pressured within the staff to make sure everything is nailed.

“It’s a bit tense, the atmosphere, and I like pressure like that.”

Wigan’s situation is a legacy of an eight-match winless run in the league that ended on Sunday, during which they were missing a host of first-choice players through injury.

Most of those are now back – and Wane has liked what he’s seen of star full-back Sam Tomkins following his return from a second long-term issue in as many years.

Tomkins came under fire from former Wigan boss Ian Millward, who stated he had delivered “zero” since returning to the club.

But Wane said: “He’s doing things off the ball, detail people won’t always see. He’s doing a lot for the team, a lot of talking. I look at games and get frustrated when we’re not going into certain areas as a team.

“When Sam plays, we do it because he knows how I like to play.

“He’s nowhere near his best but from game one, he’s improved every week. He’s playing better than when he came back last year – he looks sharper.”

Wane has Taulima Tautai back from a two-match absence, while Catalans are without the suspended Greg Bird, Fouad Yaha and Ben Garcia and injured Richie Myler and Mickael Simon.