MY WOLVES WANT TO BE LIKE FOXES

Lineham inspired by Leicester’s amazing Premier League glory as he prepares for Grand Final

WARRINGTON semi-final hero Tom Lineham has revealed how a Leicester City rallying call helped fire the Wolves to Old Trafford.

Steve Price’s side face Wigan in Saturday’s Grand Final after winger Lineham’s two tries saw them upset title favourites St Helens on Thursday.

In the build-up to the game Premier League-winning keeper Kasper Schmeichel gave a motivational talk, telling the Warrington players about Leicester’s ‘stay in the castle’ mantra.

And Lineham and his teammates took that on to the field in their 18-13 semi-final win as they look to make amends for their Challenge Cup heartbreak against Catalans.

Lineham said: “He went through a few different things they did as a group and one of them was to ‘stay in the castle’ – which meant stick to the process, stick to the gameplan.

“When we looked back to Wembley we were a bit panicky at times. As a group of players that hit us hard and will live long in the memory.

“At St Helens we let a kickoff go dead and I went into touch trying to score a try, and we needed to get back to doing what we knew.

“Hearing that from Kasper Schmeichel helped massively. On the video after my second try, you can see me going to Joe Philbin that we needed to stay in the castle, stay in the process.

“I loved the talk he gave us. It’s one of the greatest team sporting achievements in history, to win the Premier League from 5000-1.

“He gave us an insight into a few things they did as a group and although some were in confidence, it’s fair to say some of them weren’t as strict and professional as you might see at some top clubs.

“Their players are a bit more low key and lead more of a normal life, and some of the team-building stuff they did was really relatable to rugby league players.”

Now Lineham and the Wolves are looking to replicate their collective effort as underdogs again this weekend.

He added: “Going back to Schmeichel, he talked about how they were never meant to do it but as a group they all bought into it.

“They talked about coming back to player reunions in 10 years’ times, watching the highlights and going over their memories on the pitch

– and that’s what we want to be able to do.”

OVER THE LINE Tom Lineham scores against St Helens and (above) Steve Price with Kasper Schmeichel side will contest Saturday’s title decider against Warrington – was named Coach of the Year, while the Wolves took home the club accolade. Castleford’s 17-year-old playmaker Georgia Roche won the inaugural Woman of Steel.