Wigan Warriors head coach Shaun Wane labelled his side’s performance ‘unacceptable’, despite them reclaiming the Super League top-spot with a narrow win over Hull KR on Friday night.
A double for leading try-scorer Josh Charnley added to scores for Darrell Goulding and Anthony Gelling, while the Robins came close with Greg Eden, Michael Dobson and Evarn Tuimavave all touching-down.
But with the match level at half-time following some questionable Wigan defending, Wane admitted stern words were needed at the break.
“We weren’t at our best, far from it, but to get two points against a really talented Hull KR team was a credit to the players,” he said.
“The manner in which we won was a little bit disappointing for me though.
“We were missing some important players but I still expect us to perform better than that, it is unacceptable at this club – the players are honest and would agree.
“At half time I just told the areas where I thought they needed to improve quickly but they knew they didn’t perform in that first half.”
Charnley salvaged a frustrating week, which saw a naked photo circulating on Twitter, by putting the Warriors ahead inside 14 minutes after a smart pass from Ryan Hampshire.
Rovers were quick to reply with Eden cutting through some slack Warriors defence before Dobson nudged the visitors ahead with the conversion five minutes later.
The NRL-bound skipper extended his side’s lead four minutes before the break with a powerful run through three defenders for his fifth try of the campaign.
But Goulding extinguished the deficit when Matty Smith’s expertly-placed kick found space to score before Charnley’s conversion levelled the scores on the half-time hooter.
The former Hull KR loanee was the cause of more controversy five minutes after the break when his contentious try was given following review from the video referee.
Gelling looked to have secured the win for the Warriors when he crashed over with eight minutes remaining, before Smith landed a drop-goal moments later.
But the Robins ensured a nervy finish when Tuimavave bulldozed over the line with four minutes to go before Dobson took his personal tally to eight points with the kick.
Wigan have the chance to secure a fifth Super League-leader’s shield when they face Huddersfield Giants next weekend and Wane insisted things would have to improve.
“We weren’t at our best with the ball with our completions but to come away with the two points against a talented Hull KR team was a great effort,” he added.
“Overall I thought some of the decisions both ways were baffling and I need to check a few things, I need to look back at the video.
“Huddersfield next week has the makings of a good game and we will need to defend and attack better than we did tonight.”
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