EVEN for a club that is used to setting the bar of expectation high, topping the Lazarus-style comeback that saw Saints run around Old Trafford with the trophy last October will take some beating.

But that is just the target coach Keiron Cunningham has set ahead of his first season at the helm – and he is confident the players can rise to that challenge.

Saints have recruited smartly with Travis Burns coming in to partner Luke Walsh giving the team a first genuine half back partnership since Tommy Martyn and Sean Long.

With Atelea Vea coming in for Sia Soliola, Saints’ pack is further bolstered by the advancement of young forwards who are maturing with every big game.

It is that big picture that gives Cunningham belief that this crop can match the achievement of 2000, when he and his assistant Sean Long played key roles the last time Saints won back-to-back championships.

Cunningham said: “I’m a fan, just like all those who will be watching. The supporters are expecting big things this year and so am I.

“I want us to kick on from last year – good sides can win trophies, great sides can back it up by winning another one or being involved in the big things.

“I believe we have got the makings of a great side so let’s see how it goes.”

After experiencing the highs of Old Trafford, the long, dark, cold winter months have dragged for those eager to get their rugby league fix.

The two warm-up games have provided hors d’ouvres, but that has simply increased the appetite for the first large helpings from the Super League XX menu.

“It feels like we have been waiting forever and a day.

“It is almost like living in parts of Norway where you don’t have any sunlight for all of winter. But it is almost like the sun’s coming out now and rugby league is here.

“I’d imagine all the Saints fans feel pretty much the same – they have been starved of rugby, we’ve had a couple of friendlies and that has whetted our appetite but we are excited about starting this league competition.”

Cunningham was a legend as a player so much so that a vote among townsfolk saw him top the poll when it came to setting a Saint in bronze.

He moved into the joint coaching role under caretaker boss Mike Rush in early 2012 and became Nathan Brown’s assistant for the past two seasons.

But now it is Cunningham picking the team, fronting the media, monitoring the salary cap and planning future recruitment.

But this week is all about diligently priming his team to hit the ground running for a tough clash against a Catalans team that will fancy their chances of displacing a big English team from the top four.

“I just want to make sure I have prepared the side well, with the players going in with the belief that they are the side that they deserve to be,” he said.