Johnson’s backing
2:31am Friday 16th May 2008
PAUL Johnson is in no doubt that Warrington Wolves can count on the experience of their Challenge Cup exit to strengthen their push for Super League honours.
Johnson was one of the stars in the heartbreaking defeat to St Helens but sustained knee ligament damage in the final quarter has now left him sidelined for the rest of the season along with Stuart Reardon, Chris Bridge and Steve Pickersgill.
Despite the squad's injuries, Johnson, who will need a full cruciate knee ligament reconstruction, has seen a lot of positives in the team's performances to feel confident that Wolves can maintain their play-off ambitions.
"We've got enough quality in the team to kick on from this," he said.
"It's the halfway point of the Super League season now and it's not how you start it's how you finish.
"The money games are at the end of the season and anything can happen.
"You've just got to put yourself in a position to compete in the play offs and we've just got to build for then."
Johnson was a late draft into the starting line-up against St Helens on Saturday due to centre Martin Gleeson's illness and ended up partnering winger Chris Hicks on the right-hand side for the first time.
It was the 29-year-old Great Britain international's first start since tearing his hamstring in the warm-up to the Leeds Rhinos clash at Headingley on April 11 and two of his sublime passes created tries for Hicks to keep Wolves in the hunt before having to leave the field with his injury.
Johnson, who felt Wolves were just a fraction' away from producing a famous winning performance at Knowsley Road, said: "I got a bit of a pop in my knee after getting caught awkwardly in a tackle.
"It was gutting in the dressing room after Saints, everyone had given their all but sometimes maximum effort isn't enough.
"We are getting better and better but sometimes when we make a mistake we've just got to react to it and get on with the game, and we need to be a little bit smarter.
"Saints are a good team and they sit in there, waiting for their chance, whereas I think we're always panicking that the game is going to be taken from us.
"Saints just seem to know that at some point they're going to take the game away and we've got to get that on our side rather than thinking we have to hang on. We should have just blown them away."