Coach’s only focus is Dragons clash

12:43pm Thursday 19th June 2008

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JIMMY Lowes immediately turned his focus to Saturday's big match in France after agreeing a deal to remain in charge for the rest of the season.

Lowes said he was 'pleased' to be given the opportunity to see out the season as head coach but hoped it would now bring an end to talk about his own future.

The 37-year-old was more keen to talk about the weekend clash with Catalans Dragons in Perpignan, kick-off 8pm French time (7pm British time), which could make or break Wolves' hopes of making it into the top three this season.

Wolves rose to fourth with Sunday's 40-22 win against Hull KR and are now five points behind Catalans, who are the surprise package of the Super League season and currently lie in third place.

Wolves fly out to France today, Thursday, and Lowes is hopeful that Louis Anderson (dead leg) and Mark Gleeson (ankle) will be declared fit when final assessments are made tomorrow. Matty Blythe and Mike Cooper may be in line to stand in.

Winger Chris Riley has told the Warrington Guardian that the Wolves squad, who are growing in confidence after back-to-back wins, believe they can seize third place if they can win in Perpignan.

But Lowes, who joined the club from Salford last July, was more cautious ahead of what he admits is one of the most difficult fixtures on the calendar - particularly as temperatures are likely to reach over 30 degrees on Saturday.

On a potential third-place finish, he said: "It's too far away to talk about things like that. We've got a decent run-in ahead of us and I'm more worried about the week-in, week-out performances than where we're going to finish at the end of the year.

"As long as we get this stuff right now and keep improving each week, all that will take care of itself.

"We need a solid performance out there. Catalans are probably the form side of the competition. They've done extremely well at home and away.

"But we're looking forward to the challenge and we know we've got to play our best game so far against this team.

"They're always tough at home and have been for the last couple of years.

"They've brought some good players in who have settled in there, a good coach who takes over at St Helens next year and their away form has picked up."

Paul Wood is aiming to be back in action early next month as he continues his recovery from a shoulder injury recurrence in March.

England will announce their 19-man squad on Monday for their June 27 match in France. Any Wolves players selected may have to miss the Super League trip to Hull on June 29 because of fatigue.