SAINTS coach Paul Wellens gave an insight into the end of season review process, which areas will be worked on in pre-season and how there is a determination that the title-winning run ending does not mean the end of the cycle for this group of players.

We have broken the interview down into two parts to stop it being too wordy.

MC: The semi final defeat was a microcosm of the Saints season – show your strengths in some areas but also the areas that have been weak points?

PW: The game summed up our season in one 80 minutes; there was resilience at times when it was needed, we really dug deep for each other and the work ethic was fantastic and defensively very sound, but at times our lack of control with the ball cost us and our discipline cost us.

And then if you look back throughout the campaign, I think we've had a little bit of that through the course of the year.

That's something for me as the as the coach to make sure we look to fix up.

I don’t think we're a lot more ill-disciplined than other teams, but at the same time we do have to find ways to tidy up in those areas because numerous times this year we've put ourselves under unnecessary pressure.

St Helens Star:

MC: Do you have to be hard now in terms of appraising where you have fallen down this year? 

PW: I think we've always got to be looking for ways to improve but if you lose a semi-finals in 79th minute it's quite clear there is not a lot wrong.

But at the same time there are areas to work on and I think we've all got to look at this.

It is something that we probably didn't have the opportunity last year, with it being a World Cup year and then going into a short pre-season into a World Club Challenge, to try and affect much change within the group and affect change in the way we play because we just had so many restraints on us.

But we have an opportunity this year to try and find some improvement – I have already got some ideas and the coaching staff have already got some ideas of how we can do that so.

It's exciting on one hand that we probably take stock a little bit and we'll come back again with probably a bit less pressure on us.

We have always had talk of two in a row, three in a row four in a row – we’d have loved to have made it five in a row, but at the same time we start next year and you don't have those same conversations going on.

It just allows us to get about our business and get excited about the year ahead.

MC: During your player reviews do you get feedback from those you are reviewing. Is it a two-way process?

PW: It is a a conversation with every single player, what have they liked and personally what they feel they need to improve on.

Also we get the feedback on the environment and the different things we have done throughout the course of the year and where they feel that we can find improvements.

We have got a lot of players who have been around the club for a long, long time. It is really important that we get their opinion and their honest opinions as well.

We have to be really open minded as a coaching team, as a staffing unit to maybe get a little bit of criticism at times, or maybe get some feedback that perhaps we might not like.

But if it's always designed around us moving forward and improving then it's important that we take on all that information, particularly if it is from the players who have been around for a long time.

They understand what winning culture is and understand what a winning environment looks like.

MC: Is that part of your own appraisal as well or do you do that separately with all of your staff?

PW: We haven’t conducted that yet, but we will be doing a full review of our programme.

And that will involve all of our staff, the medical department, the Strength and Conditioning department and coaching team and there will be different conversations there, reflecting on the year.

That will include things that we felt worked within our departments, but more importantly the things we feel we need to improve on.

And again, there's an excitement about that because if we can identify a number of areas to improve us it goes a long way to helping you become a better team.

And for a team that's lost a semi final in the last minute, if we can improve on that we are still going to be a very difficult team to beat.

MC: When you break it down into numbers you can see that Saints have lost one more league game than last year, and averaged two points a game fewer than last season. Although it's not catastrophic fall off it can feel like that when a team like St Helens is not making it to Wembley or Old Trafford?

PW: We're aware of that. And again if you think about the different challenges we have faced this year.

I know we had injuries last year as well and managed those really well, but we also had the Australia trip that took some getting over – more emotionally than physically.

So we have had that contend with and obviously a a number of injuries and suspensions throughout the year.

We want to definitely improve in that in that area to give ourselves a better chance of success – but as you say it has not been a monumental drop off.

So it is up to us to not kind of catastrophize things because we have lost a semi final. It is about assessing the situation for what it is, particularly looking around areas where we can get better.

St Helens Star:

MC: Is attack your big focus - looking at the number of points Saints scored compared to the teams at the top, above you?

PW: We're third in the league in terms of points scored. We obviously sit behind the two teams that are in the Grand Final, that tells you something.

I think at times we have been really threatening attack, looking at Magic weekend or when we played Wigan at home, or Hull away in the Challenge Cup.

When we get it together we can be really difficult to handle but we've actually lacked consistency in that area.

And I think if you look at the game at the weekend that's probably evidence of that.

So yes it's an area that we're working hard to try and improve, but at the same time we have to be mindful that we can't just start trying to change everything because everything doesn't need changing.

 So myself, Laurent and the coaching staff will identify a few areas of improvement and really work hard on those throughout the pre-season.

Part II of the Paul Wellens Q&A is here.

Part 2 will deal with possible recruitment and Wellens' thoughts on a first year as head coach.