FRESH from Sunday's thrashing of Halifax, Saints continue their travels with another potential banana skin against a Salford City Reds side keen to impress their new coach. (Sunday, 6pm).
The Reds have taken some heavy beatings in recent weeks, culminating in last Friday's 70- point mauling at Wigan which led to the resignation of coach John Harvey.
Their new boss Steve McCormack inherits a team packed with a wealth of experience with plenty to prove, including ex-Saints skipper Bobbie Goulding and fellow old boy Danny Arnold.
Saints will line up with the same squad that blitzed the Blue Sox, with the exception of Sonny Nickle who is likely to be rested after picking up a leg injury at the Shay.
And coach Ian Millward is prepared for a tougher game than it appears on paper. "Salford are coming into this game off the back of a big loss, but I don't think that will be reflected on Sunday. They are back at home, they have got a new coach and a lot of players will be very committed.
"It is a big game for them, but equally it is a big game for us. If you look the last couple of games against Salford we have had to play very well to win".
The Saints boss was conscious of the fact that Salford have already beaten Wigan at the Willows and the Reds, with experienced players like Paul Broadbent, Francis Maloney, Nick Pinkney and Aussie international Mike Hancock, are quite capable of causing some damage.
"If Salford can get their defence right they have enough flair to win games. We will be going in with the right attitude and I am confident we will get the result", Millward said.
The Saints' boss was delighted with the way his side played at the Shay last Sunday.
"Our attack was very fluent and there was some great skill levels there. I was talking to Brett Goldspink on the phone this week and he said in one set of six Halifax had to make 20 tackles.
"It is typical of our play -- we move the ball well and provide good entertainment then back that up with some good defence in the big games".
Meanwhile, practice has been the key to Paul Sculthorpe's improved goalkicking in recent weeks. After a shaky start, which proved costly in the defeats against Wigan and Hull, Sculthorpe has now perfected his technique.
"Paul did not practise a lot on goal kicking, but has been doing that over the past four weeks he has found the knack. It doesn't matter if you are a cricketer, golfer or a Rugby League goalkicker, you need to get into a rhythm. He has done that and is now showing the benefits of that foundation", said Millward.
Chris Joynt has still not put pen to paper for a new deal, although Millward is confident the Saints skipper will stay on. "Chris is very committed to the club -- it is a successful club and not too far down the tracks there is a testimonial. So there are benefits for Chris to stay on and obvious benefits for us to retain Chris, he is an outstanding player and leader. I have a good working relationship with Chris and I am sure he would have tapped me on the shoulder if there was a problem", added the coach.
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