Paul Wellens sends message to St Helens fans amid praise for Jack Welsby

Paul Wellens has sent a message to the St Helens fans ahead of their Super League Round 11 fixture against Catalans Dragons, whilst also speaking about full-back Jack Welsby’s comments towards the fans at Magic Weekend.

St Helens slipped to their third straight Super League loss in Round 10 and that understandably saw disappointment among the Red Vee fans. It’s understood that a minority took that disappointment too far and approached Paul Wellens, something the Saints boss swept aside whilst at St James Park.

Wellens stated that he would “continue to conduct myself in the right way despite being under huge amounts of pressure”, adding that he would “not comment on people who want to behave in a certain way”.

One man who has spoken about some of those disgruntled fans was Jack Welsby with the full-back speaking to All Out Rugby League in support of Wellens and calling on fans for supporting after hearing certain players “copping it” throughout the game.

The St Helens boss was asked about his full-back’s comments when speaking to the media on Tuesday afternoon, offering praise for the England international’s commitment to his teammates.

“He’s a young man who cares implicitly about the club, the team and his team-mates,” Wellens explained.

“I was really proud that he was prepared to stick his head above the parapet, so to speak, and come out and be in support of myself and in support of his teammates.”

Paul Wellens address fan criticism

Wellens also noted the need for Welsby and all at St Helens to understand that not all the fans feel such ways with many of those who offered genuine support at Magic Weekend likely to have felt targeted by Welsby’s comments, even if that wasn’t the case.

The St Helens boss explained: “What we also need to understand, and what Jack does understand now, is that when you talk about the fans, it’s not everybody. There’s sometimes a minority, sometimes a majority, there’s obviously a little bit of disgruntlement out there at the moment.

“When players hear criticism of themselves or their peers, it’s not easy at times, but we’re in the world of professional sports and that’s normal.”

As for Welsby specifically, Wellens praised his honesty, stating: “Like with every player, I support Jack and support his ability to come out and speak his mind. There’s probably not enough of that in the game if I’m quite honest with you. So I have no issue with Jack at all.”

With a home game against Catalans on Thursday night, the Saints faithful will be hoping for an end to the current slump in form, as will Wellens who has bore the brunt of the criticism on social media but he made note that the reality is often quite different.

He explained: “What I do want to stress is that in terms of the fan base, there’s a lot made around things that get said publicly or things that are on social media. But I walk around this town day in day out and I speak to people face to face.

“People come up to me and speak to me face to face and a lot of the things that get said to me are very different to what get written on social media.”

St Helens need support “now more then ever”

Despite that, there is no getting away from the pressure at the club and Wellens addressed that as he underlined his belief that he’s the man to lead St Helens forward.

He admitted that he is in no position to police how fans feel, claiming it is not in his “job remit”.

The Saints boss said: “What I will say first and foremost is that I understand the disappointment and I understand the frustration, but what I will never do is sit before you guys or sit here and tell people how they should and shouldn’t behave. That’s not in my job remit.”

Despite that, he did have a message for supporters as he called on them to “get behind the team”, claiming the support was needed “now more than ever”.

“What I want from supporters is to get behind the team,” stated Wellens.

“The team have had a run of poor results and definitely now need the support more than they’ve ever done. A lot of these players have won a lot of things for this club and given our supporters some wonderful, wonderful games.

“I would just like the supporters come out and show support for the team throughout this tough moment. That’s not me having a crack at supporters, that’s me saying that we’re in this together and we need your support now more than ever. But I cannot tell them how to react or how to behave.