SAINTS boss Keiron Cunningham talked of his plan for Leeds in conversation with the Star’s Mike Critchley.

MC: Has the break been beneficial?

KC: It has done us some real good. We have played a lot of rugby this year and when you have time to re-evaluate you look and from the start, the World Club Challenge, Super League and through to the semi finals of the Challenge Cup – the only game we have missed this year is the cup final.

The break has done them well, but the rest of us too.

We came back in last week and looked like a re-vitalised side and on Monday it was one of the best sessions we have had on both sides of the ball for long time.

You can sense a real edge about the players, which pleased me.

It has benefited me and the coaching staff too because you end up seeing the world in a dark place after a couple of losses.

I have gone back and watched a thousand matches and our old stuff and where we were at.

We are not that far off, but we are a result based industry.

I am a fan as much as anybody else – and I want results too. When you don’t get them and things don’t get your way then everything is dour and the players are rubbish.

That is the way rugby league goes.

The performance against Huddersfield was a try either way, defend one and score one and we win the game.

MC: You left Kyle Amor out for a game, but he came back well against Huddersfield. Has it done the trick?

KC: Kyle has played a lot of rugby and it is hard to freshen the squad when we are not that thick in certain areas and I always try to play what I think is my best team.

Kyle had gone backwards slightly, but went away and worked really hard.

I thought he came back really strong and that puts him in a good spot.

Then if you put a couple of more people in a good spot then it gives you that cutting edge which you need.

MC: Has this been as much a mental break than a physical one?

KC: As a player I used to always say 99 per cent of the game is mental. If you are physically ready you can play forever and a day, but if psychologically you are not right then it undoes that.

Winning becomes a really good habit and you feel comfortable and confident, just as losing becomes a bad habit.

Once you start doubting yourself, players get nervous and things get a bit anxious.

Some of the plays against Huddersfield showed real anxiety – early in the season you just finish them off and Huddersfield would have been beaten comfortably.

MC: That anxiety is hanging around the terraces too – does that feed back on to the pitch?

KC: We all want to do well. We have got a good group of players who are working hard away from the game on the training field.

MC: Against Huddersfield you had Jordan Turner playing in a creative loose forward type role in the middle, would it complicate matters if Jon Wilkin comes back in there?

KC: No, it adds to it. JT was phenomenal against Huddersfield and our decision to play him through the middles was justified.

We look a lot more threatening when JT is in there and it is a role he can combine with Wilko.

JT is not going to go 80 in the middle – it is difficult to go from an edge to a middle, I am happy with that situation and just have to find a good balance.

I am happy with where we are at.

We have fine-tuned some of our attacking stuff and we look a bit sharper and more of a threat.

We look really good in training and have been tidying up a few things.

As a club we might have gone backwards in certain areas, the attention to detail in certain areas maybe is not what it was.

That is partly my fault, the coaches and the players. I will shoulder all the burden – I am thick-skinned and have played rugby for a long time and been called plenty of things all my career.

MC: With Jordan is it a case of trying to get extra minutes out of him because you had to bring him off against Huddersfield when he was changing the game?

KC: He gives us a different aspect and a more dynamic attack.

I am glad it is looking good. He is a good leader and a good talker.

Although he was struggling a bit on the edge defensively, he was great with the ball.

If I can get his minutes up then that will be better for the team.

I have a little plan for this week so hopefully it will come to fruition.

MC: Leeds probably won’t be that physically drained from Wembley and they will probably bounce into this game?

KC: Of course they will. They have set this goal of winning the treble this year and there is no secret about it.

They can touch that dream coming true, but there are teams around Leeds who can have a say in what happens this year.

This week we get our say against Leeds.