CRISIS coach Frank Endacott is looking to bring in a sports psychologist to help release the pressure on his beleaguered side.

The Vikings boss has admitted that not all his players have been mentally strong enough to handle must-win games and wants a 'Widnes witchdoctor' to inspire consistency.

"When you are in the hole we are, we need to look at everything," he said. "What harm is it going to do? If they come in and help even just two players with their game it will be worthwhile.

"I believe we are all here to perform under pressure," he added. "But there was a lot of pressure on us beating Salford and maybe it affected some players and we got gun-shy.

"We've been doing lots of things in training to take the pressure-valve off and get them to use the ball more and against Leeds we played with more confidence and I want to see the same again at Wigan."

Widnes put up a spirited fight against the World Champions before succumbing to the Rhinos in the second half and showed enough glimpses of creativity, even without standoff Owen Craigie, to give fans travelling to Wigan on Friday some hope.

The injury-ravaged Warriors have lost their last three games and former boss Endacott is relishing the chance to make it a record fourth at his old stamping ground.

"It will be my first trip back to the JJB as Widnes coach and I'll always have a feel for the place," he said.

"It's the first time in eight years they've lost three in a row and they will be desperate to make sure there's not a fourth.

"But we had the better of 65 minutes against them last time before Kevin Brown ripped us to pieces. We've just got to stay mentally tough for 80 minutes."

Mumps sufferer Owen Craigie is 'available for selection' and should fill in alongside Stephen Myler at halfback after scrumhalf Jamie Durbin's recall to Warrington Wolves.

The Widnes-born 20-year-old made an impressive debut last Saturday before his loan spell ended but a £20,000 price tag has put Endacott and the Widnes board off.