PATIENCE is the key for Tony Smith as he begins to mould a squad at Warrington Wolves.

The club’s head of coaching and rugby made his first moves to build a team he believes is capable of competing for honours last week after signing three players to new deals.

Louis Anderson, Chris Hicks and Paul Wood were all rewarded with contract extensions after proving to Smith they deserve to be part of his plans.

Wolves also have a bit of room to work with under the salary cap after the departures of Martin Gleeson and Stuart Reardon.

But Smith insisted he would not rush the recruitment process, although he did not rule out bringing a player in before the end of the season if the right one came along.

He said: “We don’t do those things for the sake of it.

“If there’s somebody there and they’re worthy and you think they can add to your squad, you’ll certainly do that.

“But if you don’t, there’s no point.

“We’ll play it by ear on that one.”

Smith has also urged patience in terms of performances on the pitch.

Form has picked up dramatically over the last two weeks, with Warrington recording big wins against both Bradford and Huddersfield and confidence is high at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

But Smith is keen not to get carried away and says his team must start each week afresh.

He said: “The way we’re playing is just a bit of confidence and working with each other, it’s just having faith in each other and building combinations.

“That’s bound to happen as the season goes on if you’re playing well.

“At the moment they’re feeling confident in one another, they’re looking to help each other and they’re working hard for each other.

“It’s good to watch, I like watching the forwards work with one another and the backs taking advantage as well.

“We’re under no illusions that you need to start again and make sure you get those things right again.

“The players are working hard for one another and it’s nice to see and they’re playing some good rugby on top of it but we’re going to have some challenges ahead.”