Brian McDermott seeing signs of improvement despite fifth straight Toronto defeat

James Messenger 01 Mar 2020 11:41 AM

Toronto head coach Brian McDermott insists there is little reason to be concerned after the Wolfpack slumped to a fifth consecutive Betfred Super League defeat.

The Canadian side were kept scoreless for the first time in their history as St Helens recorded an emphatic 32-0 win at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Toronto remain the only side in the competition without a win to their name so far in 2020, but McDermott says his side must remain upbeat after a “really encouraging” display against the reigning Super League champions.

“I think we’ve been improving gradually for the last four weeks,” he said. “Certainly we got a fair few things wrong with the ball tonight but I thought Saints were great defensively.

“That had all the hallmarks of a 60-10 loss if you look at the completion rate and the amount of soft errors we made.

“In that respect I saw a huge amount of commitment in defence and I saw some tough blokes going through tough periods. Parts of that game really encouraged me about where we’re at as a group.

“While the scoreline doesn’t look pretty and the zero doesn’t look pretty, there’s certainly some things we can take out of that game and build on.”

The Wolfpack were bolstered by the inclusion of Jack Wells, who arrived on-loan from Wigan earlier in the week. McDermott also revealed that star centre Chase Stanley is finally in the UK after missing the opening weeks of the season with Visa issues.

Despite a tricky start to their debut season in the top flight, Toronto’s boss says he is confident his side can turn a corner in their next few games.

He said: “There’s a whole host of things that we’re doing behind the scenes. We’re working tirelessly to try and bring some people in and change things around from within.

“There’s going to come a point in the season when we will have the wind in our sails and how solid we are as a group through this tough period will have a bearing on how long that purple patch lasts and how sustainable it will be.

“I’ve just surprised the players by saying don’t worry too much. There are some things we clearly got wrong tonight but focus on some of the positives.”