SUDDENLY everything looks rosier at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, doesn't it?

Wolves have gained successive wins and climbed to fourth place in the engage Super League table, re-establishing themselves as top-three contenders.

There are smiles on faces in the camp and on the terraces, and optimism appears to be cautiously growing again.

Judging by the improvement in form, Paul Cullen couldn't have been that far off from getting things right but it just wasn't happening for him, for whatever reason, at the stage the decision was taken for him to leave.

After all, the same players who failed miserably under Cullen against Castleford last month collected hard-earned points for Jimmy Lowes in the subsequent matches against highly capable Harlequins and Hull Kingston Rovers.

We'll never know whether the same results against Quins and the Robins in recent weeks would have been achieved under Cullen or not.

But there are precedents - occasions under Cullen's tenure - when an embarrassing performance was turned around into a winning sequence with 'Bad Friday' at Salford in 2005 immediately springing to mind. That 42-10 loss was followed by just one loss in 12 Super League outings.

This time, Lowes appears to have managed to do the same, gaining a positive response after a dire display.

Lowes, as well as the staff working with him, did not seek or ask to be placed in the position they found themselves in with Cullen's departure but they deserve much praise for the manner in which they have set about rescuing a tricky situation.

There was a danger that the loss of such a leader like Cullen could have resulted in an initial downturn in fortunes before a rise again.

But hard work has been put in, the mood has been lightened, one or two areas have been tweaked in the game plan and the players have responded encouragingly.

Although it is still early days and the toughest tests are still to come, starting at third-placed Catalans Dragons on Saturday, the turnaround over the past few weeks means Lowes deserves the chance he has now been given as head coach until the end of the campaign.

Lowes announced on the day of his arrival as Cullen's assistant, last year, that he saw the move to The Halliwell Jones Stadium as a step on the way to becoming a head coach and his destiny would now appear to be in his own hands with regards to a longer term contract with Wolves.

It would be a very difficult decision not to extend Lowes' coaching deal if he goes on to steer Wolves to a strong and exciting finish to the campaign.

He already has two wins in the bag and no-one could have asked for more at this stage.

Former international hooker Lowes, who already has a range of coaching experience with Great Britain, Bradford, Salford and Warrington, can surely only be properly assessed for the role on a more permanent basis by being given this opportunity to show his capabilities in the various pressure situations that can arise, such as when results have gone against him as well as in his favour.

I think the club was right to strike up a deal with Lowes sooner rather than later.

It's always good for an individual's focus to know where you stand.