DEC Patton believes his spell out of the Wolves team was just what he needed to pick his form back up.

After starting the first three Super League games of the season, Patton was dropped for the next four outings and played twice for Lee Briers’ reserve side.

He returned to the team with a man-of-the-match display in The Wire’s first league win of 2017 against Leeds Rhinos on April 7 and has remained in the side ever since.

Patton is set to start at scrum-half once again in Sunday’s Challenge Cup sixth-round tie against Widnes Vikings and says he feels like his form is starting to pick up again.

The 21-year-old also says he is thankful for having the chance to correct his shortcomings in the reserves, a luxury he would not have been afforded elsewhere.

“I feel like I’m starting to pick things up again now,” he said.

“I know I slumped a little bit and dropped back into the reserves but I want to kick on now.

“It’s important for me to stay strong now for the rest of the season and keep improving each week.

“Sometimes when your confidence is down and things aren’t going right, it’s better to be able to practice things in game situations rather than just in training.

“Even though you’d rather be playing in the first team, sometimes reserve grade is the best thing for you.

“It’s a good job that we have the reserve team in that respect.”

With 10 appearances in all competitions so far this season, Patton has already played more games in the Wolves first team than he did in 2016.

However, he insists he is nowhere near being an automatic inclusion on Tony Smith’s team sheet.

“We’ve got a lot of big players knocking around and everyone is fighting for position,” he said.

“Nobody’s position is safe and nobody is an automatic pick.

“That keeps everyone on their toes because there are people knocking on the door to take your place if you’re not playing well.

“If you don’t have a good game, someone else will be in your position next week.

“I want to be playing the best I can week in week out, that’s what I’ve got to strive towards.”

Sunday marks the start of The Wire’s quest to win a fourth Challenge Cup in eight years since Smith took over in 2009.

Due to their slow start to the Super League season, some observers have marked the competition out as Wolves’ best chance of silverware in 2017.

Patton admits winning the Challenge Cup is “a more reasonable target” but insists their pre-season targets still stand.

He also stressed the need for Wolves to be at their best against their neighbours to avoid becoming victims of “the beauty of knockout rugby.”

“Every game is important, but if we play badly this week there is no chance to fix it up,” he said.

“That’s the beauty of knockout rugby. It’s a special competition for us, as a club we’ve won it a few times recently and we all want to do it again.

“I think we can still try and reach the top four if results go our way, particularly now we know exactly what we can do when we get a roll on.

“It is a more reasonable target at the moment but it’s a cup we all want to win regardless.”