Try not to sit on the fence.

I can see Saints having a decent dig to start with on Friday as a reaction from yesterday so we need to be up for them early on.

This has got me thinking, will they put in a better performance than Leigh did against us last night, I thought they played really well overall but in the end our class came through.

We owe Saints big time for Good Friday where I thought we let ourselves down but we're unlucky to have a few decisions go against us. I think winning this Friday could really give us momentum going through the rest of the season, no doubt Peet has given the players targets to meet.

I'm not convinced Saints have done all that much wrong. The fans are getting angry just as Wigan fans would after a performance like that. But I think a decline was somewhat inevitable after four straight titles which was unquestionably an incredible achievement.

Off the back of success in a salary cap sport comes the need to hand out larger contracts to the players that got them there so it leaves you with little room to change things when the tide turns. You cant replace James Roby - one of the best ever SL players (maybe the best). Losing Regan Grace was a blow but he picked up long term injuries anyway. They couldn't have accounted for Lewis Dodd's regression. I think when the streak was broken it may have been difficult to reset the motivation levels given what had been achieved. Giving a young English coach a crack should be applauded - it worked for Wigan with Wane and Peet but not for Saints with Cunningham and Wellens. Given the success of Holbrook and Woolf I guess it's understandable that Saints fans want to look overseas again.

The squad will need to evolve significantly over the next couple of years but I still wouldn't rule them out of stringing three playoff games together at the end of the year with a fit squad who would have a point to prove.

Wellens is the fall guy. He should be applauded for even taking the job. Nobody could rebuild a side in a couple of years. It's the exact same scenario as Man Utd gave Moyes. Ferguson got every last ounce out of them the previous season as did Woolf. Nobody could have steadied that ship and the majority of the blame has to go with the recruitment team.

All that being said however, long may it continue

Four takeaway bits on this/Saints/us from me...

1. Success is cyclical. Their great side (& it was a great side) is undoubtedly at the back end of a cycle. We seem to be at the start of something. That's sport, I'll enjoy it whilst we're on top but I won't gloat too much either - we'll be back there one day (just hopefully not too soon tho)

2. Their decline shows how important having a long term head coach is. I hope that, when our cycle comes to its natural end, Matty Peet is still here. Transitioning well and not having a complete drop-off, is a lot easier when you keep the same coach/manager. Bellamy, Fergie etc are the blueprints for this.

3. I still think that, should Saints get a couple of players back, there's one last big punch in them. The only question is - can Wellens motivate them enough?

4. We need to beat them on Friday. No excuses and for me, it's another acid test for finding out how good of side we are. When the roles were reversed, Saints always made us pay. Let's do the same.

Good post this