Wakefield Trinity out to create own history amid Challenge Cup drought, says Daryl Powell
Daryl Powell is not using history as motivation ahead of Wakefield Trinity's Challenge Cup quarter-final against Wigan Warriors, instead focusing on writing their own chapter.
Trinity have not lifted the trophy since 1963 and last reached the final 47 years ago.
Powell is only interested in looking forward as his side bid to move within one game of a return to Wembley for the showpiece event.
"Sometimes there's nothing to gain from that," he said when asked about finding motivation in the club's cup drought. "It's more about this group.
"You're always looking at the history of a club but I don't think they want to look back to two years before I was born. Some of them don't even know who I was as a player so we don't need to worry about that too much.
"We've just got to focus on us and doing something special for the club and the fans. They're supporting us in an awesome way and there's a real buzz around the ground on game day.
"We recognise the club has a rich history, particularly in the 60s, but creating our own slice is important."
Wakefield head into Sunday's last-eight tie in impressive form after stringing together five straight wins, while they also boast a strong home record against Wigan.
The Warriors – still without star man Bevan French – appear to be vulnerable following back-to-back defeats but Powell is not buying into suggestions that Trinity are favourites going into the game.
"They're all opinions that don't really matter too much," added the Wakefield boss.
"I feel like we're improving and there are some really good things in our game. Defensively we've been pretty solid and our second halves have been outstanding.
"But we're not getting ahead of ourselves. Whilst we're going well, we recognise there are always things we can improve.
"We're coming up against one of the stiffest challenges in the competition, regardless of whether they've got a couple of players missing or not. They'll be hugely motivated.
"We're not taking anything for granted. We feel we're in a good place and are getting better – but we're far from the finished article.
"This is a really good opportunity to step up to the plate. We've done a good job of doing that this year."