SAINTS are doing it tough at the moment - with eight front-line players still sidelined meaning the men in the red vee will have to bring a big effort to avoid slipping to a fourth consecutive defeat.

The pluses from Friday’s narrow defeat at champions Wigan was the all-round blood-to-water effort, the spark provided by debutant Harry Robertson in a re-jigged spine and a massive contribution from a depleted pack.

The downside was the odd error that allowed the game to slip away after twice leading.

Although the last three defeats have been by margins of four points or fewer it has still resulted in a disappointing slide down the table.

But the signs on Friday were much more positive.

Coach Wellens said: “We’re very performance driven and hopefully the results come off the back of that.

“We are going through a challenging period at the moment.

“But what I like about the group in those challenging periods is how they come together and don’t look for excuses.

“We’re in the situation that we’re in, but we train as hard as we can to put in a good performance on the weekend and this week is no different."

On the injury and run of defeats situation Wellens added: “We look at the situation for what it is and given the fact that we are missing a number of influential players at the moment.

"I’m asking a lot of a small group of players to back up week-on-week and keep finding that effort.

“So I’m very realistic in terms of where we’re at this moment in time but the team don’t look for excuses in the situation that we’re in.

“We have got a responsibility every time you pull on this jersey to go out there and compete the best we can.

“That’s what we got last week and we’re looking for the same on Friday against Warrington."

He said he is likely to stay loyal to the side that did well last week in the defeat at Wigan.

“More likely, I think they did a good job and I think I envisage too many changes this week but we have got a couple we are monitoring at the moment with bumps, bruises and niggles from that game and I hope they come through.

“But If that’s the case we’ll adapt accordingly.

"But I am inclined to reward the players who put in a great performance and a great effort at the weekend," Wellens said.