Richard Haggar speaks on Widnes Wild‘s determination heading into a double-header versus Blackburn Hawks.
After back-to-back losses in the NIHL Division 1 North Widnes Wild claimed an important 8-4 victory.
Important Games Ahead
The Wild currently sit in third in Division One North with five games left to play.
The Hawks sit seventh, having lost four of their last five games.
A win here could open up a four-point gap between Widnes and fourth-placed Solihull Barons.
This would make Widnes’ third place a little more secure with four games to follow.
Player/Coach Richard Haggar spoke about his sides determination going into these games, saying:
“I think the last five games are going to be hard games, it doesn’t matter where you are in this league everybody is looking to win games.
“As the teams have shown this season anybody can beat anybody on any given day, so you’ve got to make sure you turn up and you do your job to get the results that you want.”
Richard Haggar: “We really dug deep”
This follows a comeback victory over Solihull who at one point were 3-1 up but eventually lost 8-4 to Widnes.
Haggar said his side had to push hard to win but must continue these performances.
“I think we really dug deep, obviously we didn’t have the greatest of first periods, but we got to what we needed to do in the second and third.
“That’s what we’ve got to do more on a consistent basis, finish our chances and take the opportunities when they come.”
This is the mentality the side must have with play-offs looming in April as the Wild will want to find consistency heading into those games.
Remaining Focused
For now, their focus remains on their double-header against Blackburn on the weekend with Haggar saying of the side:
“I think Blackburn are a very, very good team in themselves they’ve got some very good players there. They obviously pose that speed aspect as well, they’ve got some very quick players.”
He continued:
“They work hard and they never give up, they continue right until that final whistle, so as I said you’ve got to make sure you turn up on that day and you’re willing to put in a performance for 60 minutes.”
They face the side once away from home ice and once on their own rink.
