MICK Potter will field a youthful side when Saints renew hostilities with traditional festive foe Wigan over the Christmas period.

The game, which takes place on December 27, will give some of the younger members of the squad an early chance to impress.

The senior players, bar those who were on Four Nations duty, are back in training and most of those will play in Mike Bennett’s testimonial game against Championship winners Barrow on January 17.

Potter explained: “It will be a younger team against Wigan – I don’t thing players like Keiron Cunningham need a game at Christmas.

“As much as the fans will want to see our best team play because it is against Wigan, I don’t think players with lots of games under their belts need to play.

“We need to be sensible and look at our younger players, who will be called on in the year, and this will be a good challenge for them.

“There will be a smattering of the top squad in there, but not too many.

“Players like Kyle Eastmond may want to get their hands on the ball after the Four Nations, and likewise with Scott Moore.”

The games over the Christmas period are a balancing act.

Clubs welcome them because they are money-spinners at a time when every penny counts and fans seem to like the revival of this tradition.

But the break from pre-season training to prepare for them has always been a concern for coaches.

Potter said: “The competition does not start in earnest for another six weeks and I would prefer them to get more pre-season training done to get them stronger and fitter without the risk of injury.

“That said, we have to find a balance and we all understand that bills have to be paid.

“It will still be an entertaining game and people will see a lot of players who will play during the course of the year even if it is not our strongest team.”

Potter is once again confident the team’s youngsters will continue to develop this year, following on from the successful stints of Andrew Dixon, Matty Ashurst and Kyle Eastmond last season.

There are also high hopes that highly regarded talent Shaun Magennis can put behind his year without a game of rugby, after recovering from a knee injury, and show what he is capable of Potter said: “I think we will see a progression of some of our youngsters.

"They had a lot more game time than they and even I thought they would have had last year.

“The likes of Matty Ashurst did a really good job and Andrew Dixon probably would have played more had he not hurt his wrist, likewise with Gary Wheeler, who would have played more had he not picked up his injuries.

“Gary has worked on his fitness and durability in the off season and is looking good.

“Another forgotten player in our squad is Shaun Magennis, who did not play one game.

“He is looking very good in training and he may well get his first run out in a year and bit.

“Gareth Frodsham is another one who played just a couple of games, but picked up an injury that knocked him around for the season.

“Prop is a tough, demanding position for a youngster and you don’t see the best of them until they hit their mid 20s unless you are a freakish sort of player like Burgess or Graham.

“You have to literally grow into that position to get strong and big enough and durable enough to take this position and Gareth knows that.”