Cagey Cullen keen not to fuel his critics

12:00pm Thursday 22nd May 2008

Comments (36)   Have your say »

WOLVES boss Paul Cullen gave an unusually guarded response to questions at the club's weekly Press conference amid growing unrest among fans about his future at the club.

Cullen has become increasingly wary of fuelling his critics and stressed that he did not want to appear like he was making excuses, to the point that he was reluctant to give his usual update on injuries and team news ahead of Monday's clash against Castleford.

"I would choose exactly the same team in exactly the same shape"

Paul Cullen

The Wolves boss, who has accepted that he is responsible for events on the field, said: "I think we'll make a considered decision not to be discussing every individual injury that we obviously have.

"If we're giving good open honest declaration of genuine injuries that a number of our players have obviously got at the moment, we get the feeling that everything that we say is being taken down and used in evidence against us. For me to get into the detail of it will only be taken the wrong way. We need to circle the wagons.

"We will play the fittest, healthiest and most experienced side we have available to us against Castleford and draw the line quite firmly there.

"We will not allow anyone to think we're using injuries as an excuse."

That was the accusation levelled at Cullen by some fans during 2007 but he has been at pains to avoid a similar situation this season, even though he has already lost five players to long-term injuries.

Michael Monaghan (knee), Adrian Morley (knee), Ben Westwood (rib) and Rob Parker (rib) are all believed to be doubtful for the Cas clash and Cullen did hint that the game could come too early for some of them.

Among those standing by to fill in is Mike Cooper, who has not figured in the first team since an horrific leg fracture 12 months ago.

The match against Super League's bottom club - the first of three games against teams currently below Wolves in the table - will see the two worst defences in the league go head to head.

Cullen has said that he and his players go into the game fighting for our lives' and admitted he had pored over the footage of Friday's collapse at Wigan about 37 times', before asserting: "We didn't play well enough. Full stop."

He later expanded, saying: "I was disappointed with our discipline.

"Fifty minutes in we're winning the game and we've overcome quite a few difficulties thrown at us, where they be injuries or decisions from the officials or sin bins.

"Fifty minutes in we're 14-8 in front and there's a good argument to say we should have been more in front.

"What we thought was a perfectly legitimate try was ruled out for whatever reason (Chris Hicks had a first-half effort disallowed for obstruction).

"That now becomes Stuart Cummings' business and not mine but I would run that play again in the same manner.

"I wouldn't change a single thing. And to be fair, given our preparation last week, I would choose exactly the same team in exactly the same shape."

That was a reference to queries about the absence of Chris Riley, who was fit enough to be 18th man after an ankle injury but was not selected to play at the JJB.

The decision to leave out Riley meant several players had to switch positions but may have been taken because the 20-year-old winger had not trained in the early part of the week.

Wolves' perennial struggle to transform good periods of play into an 80-minute performance was highlighted as they folded in the second half at Wigan.

Asked how Wolves, who have been doing fitness work in training this week, can extend their purple patches over the course of a full match, Cullen said: "It really is the billion dollar question.

"One thing that was a concern for us was that discipline level over the full course.

"Our discipline early on was very reasonable, our penalty count was very low.

"Vinnie Anderson was a fraction late on his charge but the fraction cost. At that point, it's about reaction and response.

"We responded well, we didn't concede any points when we were down to 12 men but we eventually paid the price for it."