SAINTS will not go for a quick fix to fill the coaching vacancy created by the axing of coach Keiron Cunningham.

It means that the temporary coaching team of Jamahl Lolesi, Sean Long and Derek Traynor could stay in place until the end of the season while Saints seek to make the right long-term appointment.

All three will be in joint charge and there is no head coach as such.

Speaking on Tuesday Lolesi confirmed the roles the coaches will do until a long term successor to Cunningham is in place.

Lolesi said: “Longy might do a bit more of the attack - with him playing as a half back - I might look a bit more at defence and we will bounce ideas off each other.

“With Derek Traynor having worked with the juniors for so many years he is overseeing us us both and seeing where we need a hand.

“Paul Wellens has been working with the younger grades but he will be brought back to add an extra pair of eyes in review and on the sidelines running messages.”

The events since last Friday have rocked the club - from the players and up to the coaching staff.

But they now must knuckle down and rescue the season with all still to play for despite some poor slip-ups and lacklustre displays.

Lolesi spoke about the impact of Monday’s announcement.

“Obviously the events of this week are just sad,” he said.

“It makes it harder when Keiron is such a good person who has given the best part of 24 years of his life to the club.

“He’s a great coach and was player who won everything he could for the club.

“Monday was hard for everyone at the club, including the chairman Eamonn McManus and CEO Mike Rush.

“Results haven’t been what we have wanted them to be - we haven’t been good enough and that includes myself and the playing group.

“No one was working harder than Kez to turn it around but with the events that happened it didn’t work out.

“Everybody was really disappointed yesterday - the players were visibly upset because they liked him as a person as well as a coach.

“We all have to take some responsibility for what happened over the course of the start of season.”

Lolesi added nobody wants the team to do well on Friday more than the deposed coach.
 “Nobody will want to win on Good Friday more than Kez,” he said.
“The first thing he did on Monday after hearing the bad news was to ring me and told me to make sure the boys trained well this week because there is nothing more important than getting a win.
“There is nothing he wants more than Saints to do well over Easter because he is a passionate St Helens supporter.
“ It is like losing a family member - it is tough but the players understand the business that we are in, relationships end, players leave, coaches depart, that is just the way it is and the show must go on.”
In terms of how the system will work with the three coaches Lolesi added: “We all spin our ideas off each other.
“There are no disagreements; we just work with each other and try and figure out what is best for the squad.
“That is is the most important thing. We have to play a style that suits the players we have got and we might not figure that out in a week.
“It might take a bit of time with Matty Smith being injured at the start and then now James Roby we have been a little bit disjointed.
“If you look at the season, the style didn’t have us off too many games.

"We were in a tight tussle in all of them but it might not have been good enough to win games.
“The  standards at the club and among the people of the town are quite high because of the success that has happened in the past.
“We can change a little bit but it won’t be a quick fix - it is something that needs to be done over a period of time.
“Our job is to get the squad playing the best they can until the next man comes in.
“It’s important not to lose sight of what we are trying to do as coaches. We are paid to make them play the best they can to win games and hopefully trophies. If we are here for a week, two weeks or six months until a new guy comes in then the role doesn’t change."