THREE Wolves stars return to the fold, with more to follow shortly as boss Tony Smith asks the fans to stick with his side ahead of the clash with Salford Red Devils tonight, Thursday, kick off 8pm.

Centre Ryan Atkins and prop Ashton Sims are back in the squad after serving their respective bans, while winger Tom Lineham returns having not featured since the defeat to former club Hull FC on June 10.

Jordan Cox, Sam Wilde and Benjamin Jullien are the players to drop out of the squad.

The game has come too soon for stand-off Kurt Gidley, but he is set to return from a hamstring strain at Castleford next week.

Mitchell Dodds, James Laithwaite and Jack Johnson are also progressing well after being sidelined with long-term injury.

Ahead of the clash with Ian Watson’s side at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Smith says he understands the concerns fans have about the team’s recent performances.

“We’ve still been managing to get wins even if it’s been a bit ugly at times. We’d like to be more fluent and that’s what we’re striving to be,” he said.

“It’s up to us to step up again but all I know is it’s been a difficult period for us in terms of players not being able to train – carrying knocks but still playing.

“We feel the same as the fans in terms of not being as pleased as we’d like to be with our form but I don’t think any team is really ripping it up at the moment. We want to and we want to do it soon and hopefully that’s Thursday night.”

Fiji international Sims is returning from a second ban in quick succession after he was cited by the RFL for a high tackle during the 20-18 win over Catalans.

Smith says there have been “quiet words” with the prop about his conduct.

“He’s been in good form this year, so to miss him again through suspension has been unfortunate but it’s good to have him back,” he said.

“Ashton’s an experienced guy but we do have chats about it. A big guy like him likes to have some authority on the game but how far you throw your weight around is really important nowadays.

“He needs to make some adjustments to his techniques but he’s well aware of that.

“He’s also intelligent enough to know what’s right and wrong nowadays but there has been some quiet words as well.”

Wolves 19-man squad: Ryan Atkins, Ryan Bailey, Daryl Clark, Ben Currie, Brad Dwyer, Rhys Evans, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, George King, Toby King, Tom Lineham, Declan Patton, Kevin Penny, Stefan Ratchford, Matty Russell, Chris Sandow, Ashton Sims, Joe Westerman, Ben Westwood.