Hull FC v St Helens: John Cartwright plays down pressure ahead of crunch home clash

While he concedes that results are a necessity regardless of the venue, Cartwright is keen to take the focus off Hull's home form.

"We just need to win if we want to compete at the back end of the year," he said. "We need to start winning. If we can turn that ground into a fortress, well, that will be great for us – but there's no extra pressure.

"There's already pressure when you play at this level every week so we don't want to add any more to it.

"The field is the same dimensions and we've got a bigger crowd there watching us. We've got no excuses but win, lose, or draw, if we play to our ability, we'll walk off satisfied."

A win on Saturday would take Hull to within one point of fifth-placed Saints in the Super League table.

Cartwright knows his team must improve on an error-strewn performance against Warrington Wolves but has not lost sight of the progress made in a short space of time.

"We're up against a very experienced side and have got to have a response to how we played last week," he said. "We know where we want to be to make a statement.

"The players have kept turning up for each other defensively and they turn up to training with the right attitude. They're very honest in their appraisal of their own game, which makes all the coaches' jobs a lot easier.

"I'm really pleased with how far they have come as a group. If you cast your mind back 12 months and now see where they're at, they have come a long way."