I THINK it says a lot when an ardent Wolves follower of 40 years considered himself better off when accompanying his wife and mum to a Gary Barlow concert instead of attending Friday’s match against Hull KR.

He knows he would have been disappointed to have witnessed Warrington struggling to post points again, on a night when progress was expected after positive signs in the cup win at Hull KR and preceding Super League success at Huddersfield.

There was a touch of irony sat in the Liverpool Echo Arena as the Take That front man – who attended Wolves’ Challenge Cup party celebrations in London in 2012 - belted out a swing version of ‘Could It Be Magic’ when a text arrived from the fan’s pal saying: “Sorry to spoil your night, Wire lost 25-12.”

As many keep telling me, the home performances in particular have been anything but inspirational – from the lack of cohesion, very little penetration, dropped possession, one-out playing style and wrong options, to the muted atmosphere in the stands.

And as such, I regret to agree that so far it hasn’t been very entertaining – unlike Gary Barlow I find myself surprisingly admitting after attending with tickets purchased well in advance of the Super League fixtures being announced.

The absence of Super Bennie Westwood and the injuries picked up by fellow pack men Paul Wood and Simon Grix would not have helped Wolves’ cause on Friday, nor would the seven selection changes from the win at Hull KR five days earlier.

I don’t recall any Warrington side playing well with that many changes, never mind one still trying to learn how to cope without Lee Briers, Brett Hodgson, Adrian Morley, Garreth Carvell and Mike Cooper.

Hopefully in months to come we will be able to look back at tomorrow’s ‘derby’ with Widnes as a tide-turner.

Wolves will have to get themselves well and truly fired up for this one in order to gain much-needed winning points.

I’ve felt for some past meetings that Vikings, no matter their league position, have wanted the bragging rights more than Wolves - on the pitch at least.

That was clear when Vikings completed a 2013 league double over Warrington.