Watson: Cup will motivate Salford

Salford boss Ian Watson believes the opportunity to secure a place in the Challenge Cup semi-finals will be the perfect motivation for his team to return to winning ways on Thursday.

The Red Devils head into their quarter-final tie against Wakefield on the back of two league defeats, but Watson says the prospect of reaching the last four will inspire his players to produce their best form.

“Everyone wants to compete and win no matter what game it is, but with a place in the cup semi-final at stake it is that little bit more special, so the motivation is immediately there to get to it,” he told the club’s official website.

“Without letting it get to us we need to let the occasion generate our momentum, so that we can then win on the back of our processes within the game.

“We have been through two tough games which have not gone our way, so it is now up to us to learn from these by identifying elements which took each of them away from us.

“We know we are a good team, so we need to focus on that and take it into this coming game.

“Considering where we started from, the benefits of getting through would be enormous. We now have to strive to achieve higher expectations.

“We’ve achieved our first target of the season – getting into the top eight – but we want to keep moving up, so it is now on to the Challenge Cup. We just need to be confident going into the game.”