WOLVES utility man Stefan Ratchford says he is happy with the way his half-back partnership with Kurt Gidley is progressing ahead of tonight’s game with Wigan.

After the influential Chris Sandow tore his hamstring in the reverse fixture at the DW Stadium, Ratchford has stepped into the breach having spent most of the season covering various other positions, including centre and hooker.

After a slow start, the pair dazzled in last week’s win over Widnes and Ratchford says their performances will continue to improve in time.

“The more we play together, the more we’re going to gel and long may that continue,” he said.

“The Saints game was massive and it was the first time me and Gids had played in the halves together so it was always going to be difficult trying to gel straight away.

“The overall performance at Huddersfield was way off so we couldn’t really get anything going but the Widnes game was probably the first time we’ve really clicked.”

Much like the game four weeks ago, tonight’s clash with Wigan is a top-of-the-table affair with both sides locked together on 18 points.

Shaun Wane’s men arrive at the Halliwell Jones Stadium with a raft of injury absentees, including skipper Sean O’Loughlin, top try scorer Dom Manfredi and England international back-rowers Joel Tomkins and Liam Farrell.

As a former junior with Wigan St Cuthberts and Wigan St Patricks, Ratchford is well-versed on both sides of the rivalry and says the position of both sides in the Super League table makes it an even more mouth-watering prospect.

“In the streets during the week you get people shouting over about having a bad game and not winning and things like that,” he said.

“We have our own injury problems but because we’ve been winning games it’s not being spoken about.

“If we were both at the bottom it would still be a massive game but we’re both competing at the top of the table so it’s a case of it being even bigger.”

Wolves go into the game on the back of a triple contract boost, with Gidley, head coach Tony Smith and chief executive Roger Draper all signing extended deals at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Ratchford says the news can only be good for the club moving forward.

“Tony’s been really good for us, we’ve had quite a few new faces this year so the way he’s shaped the side over the last few years has been great,” he said.

“It’s good to see him sticking around and hopefully we can get some success off the back of that.

“Roger has come in and been here for around 12 months and you can see the strides the club has made off the field with him directing things.

“He’s getting things in place in that department and Tony is sorting things out on the field so it’s great that we’ll have that continuity over the next few years.”