THESE are certainly nervy and worrying times for all involved with Warrington Wolves.

With six games remaining in the Betfred Super League 2022 season, The Wire are in a dreaded relegation battle that so many consider unfathomable.

After all, this is a proud club that has consistently challenged for the game's honours – and provided a significant number of players for international duty – on an annual basis since 2009.

As frustrating, infuriating and painful as the recent times have been, and whether some fans feel let down by players, coaches, staff or boardroom members or not, it could be telling for the coming games if supporters channel their passion for 'the club' in the most positive ways they can. More on this further down.

Even though The Wire have had some rough periods in their history, most recently being the 2017 blip and the latter years at Wilderspool Stadium prior to Paul Cullen's arrival as head coach, The Wire have never played their rugby outside of the top flight.

None of us with Warrington Wolves in our hearts want this to happen now, so there is no argument we are all in this together.

Hindsight shows that the consistency needed to be in the position of realistic honours contenders year after year has dropped off since The Wire defeated St Helens in the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley in 2019, evidenced by poor exits from the prestigious knockout competition and end-of-season play-offs as well as periods of hot and cold form generally.

Daryl Powell was appointed as Steve Price's replacement to arrest the slide and has found his first season in charge to be a challenging one, arguably more so than anyone anticipated.

The bottom line is that too many players, for whatever their reasons, have failed to deliver their best form under the former Castleford Tigers chief this year.

And it seems clear there have been underlying reasons that go back before his time at the helm.

But the club's chiefs are backing him to the hilts to turn things around, as seen in the signings secured for 2023 and those that have been brought in already.

It does appear some players this year have found it difficult to adapt to his way of working and to the style of play he wants.

Partly because of that, as well as being faced with a number of injuries and having player turnover issues for 2023 and beyond, there has been a lot of tinkering.

That is in terms of matchday selections as well as the permanent exit of six players, more on loan, plus the arrival of five signings mid-term.

In that regard, many will not be able to remember a season like it.

Such a lack of stability can impact on achieving consistent results and that has shown to be the case. Then confidence and belief drop, fans become frustrated and resentful, it seems luck is constantly against you, and we end up where we are now.

Due to performances and results over the entire season, a four-point cushion between Wolves and bottom club Toulouse Olympique going into the final six games is not a safety net to feel comfortable about.

Probably the biggest worry right now is that The Wire have spurned so many chances to achieve wins that could have got them out of this mess, making it a huge concern to supporters about where the next win will actually come from.

In four of their last seven matches – Huddersfield away at the weekend, Hull KR at home, Salford at home and Wakefield away – The Wire have given up winning positions.

Those eight points would have seen them in fifth or sixth spot and looking like having a stab at the play-offs rather than fighting for their Super League lives.

In one of those other matches in the past seven, The Wire were never at the races as they fell against Castleford.

And then there were two wins against depleted opponents, 4-0 at home to Hull FC and 36-10 against Catalans Dragons in the Magic Weekend round at Newcastle. They weren't perfect performances, but there were some better signs and the winning points brought relief.

Over the past seven games, there has been improvements compared to those tonkings suffered at the hands of Leeds (40-4 at home), Catalans (40-8 away) and Wigan (40-22 at home) back in May and June.

So although it has felt like one step forward and three steps backwards over an 80-minute period at times, indications are there that effort is being put in to try to rescue the situation. Albeit not as quickly as anyone would like, they are currently closer to getting things right than they were a month or two back.

The Wire players need to look deep into those most recent victories against Hull and Catalans to find solutions to winning some more points in their remaining fixtures.

They certainly battled and showed a great deal of heart in those performances, which is a good starting point. They also defended strongly, covered for one another and had some smart moments with the ball in their hands.

And they did not let any setbacks spoil their intentions, as has been the case in those recent games when they have collapsed at some stage in the final quarter.

No matter what has happened this year to this point, the requirement now is that everyone involved with performances on the field gives every ounce of their being to winning match points and putting to bed the concerns, worries and feelings of indignity surrounding relegation threat.

The Wire were in trouble in the summer of 2002, 20 years ago.

Times were different then, finances were in a rotten state, the squad was not as strong as it is now and the survival of the club – along with the team's Super League status – hinged not only on the team scrapping for some wins but planners backing the move to a new stadium.

It was the fans who got the club over the line on and off the field.

The petition signing and protest walks had a huge part to play in departing crumbling Wilderspool and commencing the new era at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, which was the catalyst for those Wembley appearances in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2019 as well as coming so close to the title in the Grand Finals at Old Trafford in 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2018, while also finishing top of the table in 2011 and 2016.

And the supporters really dug deep for the team after Cullen's arrival in late 2002, with all the chanting, cheering and roaring fuelling much needed fire into the players' bellies for a memorable win against Castleford Tigers that effectively saved the season and provided inspiration for the seasons to come.

Despite all the problems and hurt associated with the situation at the time, the club certainly felt 'at one' in the fight for a brighter future.

This club needs its 18th man again.

It is understandable fans have gone quiet in the stands, turning up with trepidation and feeling despondent with the poor fayre served up over the year. Especially so when times are hard and getting harder.

But raising the roof, backing the players, generating a cauldron like atmosphere for opponents and generally reminding everyone what this club means to so many could just make all the difference in the days and weeks to come.

That would lay the platform for raised hopes in 2023 and getting things back on track.

Come on Wire, let's get the job done! And if you agree with these sentiments, show your support by typing a positive comment below.