WIDNES are facing a selection conundrum at half back ahead of Friday’s home game against Wakefield with Kevin Brown, Chris Bridge and Tom Gilmore all sidelined with injury.

Youngster Jordan Johnstone, who suffered a head knock in the cup win over Rochdale, is still serving the final days of his mandatory spell absent.

Bridge and Brown are both expected to be out of action for a couple of weeks with a torn calf and twisted ankle respectively.

While Gilmore faces a 16-week spell out of the game after needing a reconstruction on his dislocated shoulder.

It means coach Denis Betts could pair Joe Mellor with one of his regular nines Aaron Heremaia or Lloyd White for the clash against the rejuvenated Trinity.

After losing their last three home games, sixth-placed Vikings are desperate to stop the slide down the league table against a Trinity side that has, until last Sunday, been playing well and winning.

Betts said: “The last three games at home have been average and we have not played with any real steel in us.

"We have got effort and although we have that fight in us to win a game, we have just not seen it. the opposition have got us too easily over those last three games.

"We are half way through the season and sixth in the table, most people would have taken that at the start of the year but expectations change.

"We are not in a bad spot because our good start gave us a buffer, but we have got to start moving again.

"We have had a bloody nose this past month but we have got to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get back to some hard work, get back on the field and get some wins."

Betts believes the disruption in and around the Easter spell has contributed to their drop off after a fine start to 2016.

"We have not really got going again on the training field since Easter, a couple of injuries and a bit of a set back with illness.

"The thing that was so fluent at the start of the year was that both half backs worked hard in pre-season and both came out flying and were constant in the team and it showed.

"But since Catalans then we have not got going again with any kind of consistent selection or play.

"That is now down to the coaching team over the next few weeks to get that confidence back in them, maybe simplify things a touch and start getting some runs back on the board," Betts said.

They will not find it easy against a Wakefield side they beat at Belle Vue earlier on in the campaign.

They have turned the corner on the field since the departure of Brian Smith.

Betts said: "Wakefield have come out of a dark time and Chris Chester has put some light back in them. They have got some really good players – a decent nine, good halves with a kicking game.

"We know we are facing a challenge - under Chris Chester they are doing a lot more with the ball and their shape is good.

"But we have got to concentrate on ourselves.

"We have had a look at Wakefield and know what they are doing but we need to get that confidence back and start doing the little things well for each other which we did at the start of the year.

"Off the back of that we started to grow as a team."