ADAM Keighran is determined not to let personal emotions get in the way of the job in hand – getting Wigan back on track.
But ahead of his reunion with Catalans, he does admit the clubs are very similar in standing and can see tonight’s meeting being repeated at Old Trafford in October.
On the face of it, a city by the Mediterranean in southern France and a gritty town in Greater Manchester could not be more different.
However, having been at both, the centre is better placed than anyone to know having been surprised by both.
Keighran, who last year suffered Grand Final heartbreak as a Catalans player at the hands of Wigan, said: “France is quite a union-based country but the way the community in Perpignan gets behind rugby league is pretty special. It’s pretty incredible.
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“That probably took me by surprise. It was a special time there when I was there – I’m just looking forward to beating them this week.
“And at Wigan it’s unreal, I can’t complain. My family and I are really happy. The club treats us well too, it’s good people and a good community.
“I can see similarities between Wigan and Perpignan, in their own ways. There are a few more rugby league teams around Wigan than in France but the support each team has is similar.
“And it wouldn’t be a surprise if we meet in the Grand Final. Both sides are going well. Anything can happen throughout the year, though.”
Keighran, 27, is ready to face a few friends tonight after Steve McNamara’s men went all the way to Old Trafford, losing 10-2.
However, this is all about having his professional head on as the Warriors look to bounce back from last week’s loss at Hull KR, rubbing salt into Catalans’ wounds from Leigh in the process.
He added: “I don’t take many things personally. In the rugby league world, you can’t do that – you can’t let too much outside noise get to you.
“But it feels like a big game in general. We had a tough loss last week which we want to turn around as a team. It’s probably bittersweet, though, that we’ll get a chance to do it against Catalans.
“The fact both teams are looking to bounce back adds to it. You want to turn around a tough loss pretty quickly. It’ll be a good challenge.
“We’re both in the top three at the moment, so it’s one of those games you have to approach in good form and we’re up for it, we’ve trained well.
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“We’ve looked at where we went wrong and we’re ready to fix that.”