TWO coaches go head-to-head tonight at the Willows (8.00) desperate for a win for very different reasons.
Giants head coach Nathan Brown takes his side to Salford City Reds looking to start a winning run and get some momentum going in their final three Super League outings before the play-offs get under way.
For his opposite number Matt Parish it is the more simplistic urge to get his first victory under his belt since taking the reins at the Willows last month.
The Giants would certainly seem to be in better shape as they produced a battling display before slipping to a 19-6 defeat at St Helens in round 23, while Salford were skittled at home as league leaders Wigan hit them with a 52-18 thumping.
Certainly Brown was looking to fine tune rather than swing the axe as he prepared his side for the game and said: “There were a lot more positives than negatives coming out of our last outing and before that we had a good win over Hull KR.
“Even though it was a loss against Saints last week it was arguably our ‘best’ loss of the season.
“So we just need to hold onto that and be positive about our game at Salford.
“If we take care of our game then things should look after themselves when it comes to the game.”
Brown added: “Our attack has been fine this year, but of late we have had a lot of key players missing in key positions and that hasn’t helped. But if you look at last Friday, we had the likes of Kevin Brown coming back and I thought his last 20 minutes were very positive for us.
“And Luke Robinson was as strong as ever despite having to deal with the setback of a heavy knock early in the game.
“But our attack as a whole has not been a problem, the previous week we put quite a few points on Hull KR, so it is not as if scoring has been a problem for us.
“Defence had been more an issue and that was much better at Saints, so hopefully now all we need to do is make adjustments to one or two small things.”
However, Robinson has been left out of the Giants squad – along with Stobart Stadium casualties Danny Brough and Luke O’Donnell – with Elliott Hodgson and Jamie Cording joining fit-again Australian utility back Jamie Simpson in Brown’s 19.
