St Helens boss Paul Wellens admits he takes full responsibility for the slump the club find themselves in at present. The Saints fell to their third straight Super League defeat on Saturday night at Magic Weekend as Brad Arthur’s Leeds Rhinos beat them 17-4.
It was a weak performance from Wellens’ side who found themselves 10 points down at half-time and never truly looked capable of winning the contest. There was controversy with Lewis Murphy being given a yellow card for dangerous contact, but that probably didn’t have too much sway on the final result, with the final whistle being met by boos from some members of the travelling St Helens fanbase.
St Helens are still sixth in the Super League table, level on points with Catalans Dragons and Warrington Wolves at the time of writing, but Wellens knows he is starting to come under pressure and the head coach took on accountability for recent results when speaking after the game.
“We’ve got to really settle down on a combination and build some consistency and that’s on me. I take full responsibility for that and where the team is at,” Wellens said. “When I took this job all those years ago, I knew what I was getting into.
“You lose two or three games at St Helens, it’s not like any other clubs. I wouldn’t have it any other way because high expectations and high standards make successful teams.”
“I feel for the players in some respect because they’re desperate to win a game and probably that shows up and when you get errors like we do at times, it’s a maybe a little bit anxious and when we get into trouble defensively with people coming out of the line, it’s because we care but we’re showing we care in the wrong way.
“We lost against Wigan, the derby on Good Friday, a great contest, you can lose those games but we were right up for the challenge. We really let ourselves down against Warrington and off the back of that all of a sudden you’re in what many would deem a crisis.
“There’s no way that’s a yellow card” ❌
Lewis Murphy is controversially sent to the sin bin for accidentally colliding with Alfie Edgell. pic.twitter.com/mkVsFSWhRS
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) May 3, 2025
“I thought tonight was a big game for us because we win and people start to say ‘actually, they’re a good side and they’ll be OK’. Obviously we don’t get the result and the scrutiny will be on us even more.
“My job is to support the team and find a way forward and I’ve got every confidence in this group of players that we can go on and be successful. We’ll have to ride out this tough period.”
St Helens’ boss looks ahead to next Super League challenge
St Helens have been knocked out of the Challenge Cup and as a result they now have two weeks to prepare for their next game against Catalans on May 15. That clash will be played at the Totally Wicked Stadium and while the Dragons pose a threat, Saints cannot afford to extend their losing run.
“It’s going to be a long couple of weeks off the back of a defeat,” Wellens added. “We have to continue to work hard to find improvement.
“Like I say, that’s on me. I take responsibility for it and there’s responsibility on the players to play their part. We’re all in this together and we’re disappointed but I firmly do believe we can move forward and move forward well.”
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