Adrian Lam calls time on his three-year spell with Wigan Warriors as Head Coach

It was announced earlier this week that Adrian Lam’s spell as Wigan Warriors’ Head Coach is set to finish at the end of the current season.

This season has been very tough for Lam after dealing with a ridiculous amount of injuries throughout the season, with some missing for the entirety of the campaign like Bevan French.

His first association with the Cherry and Whites was as a player. He made 119 appearances for Wigan, scoring 44 tries between 2001 and 2004.

Lam returned to Wigan in October 2018 to replace Shaun Wane as Head Coach. In his second season, he won the League Leaders Shield, before leading the Warriors to the Grand Final where they unfortunately lost to rivals St Helens.

The 51-year-old then signed a one-year contract extension at the DW Stadium which turned out to be his final season in charge of the Warriors and is still focussed on having a fairytale ending with the club that he loves.

Speaking to the media for the first time since the announcement, Lam was happy with his decision and was excited to pursue new opportunities despite being keen to keep those future paths quiet for now as he focusses on having a successful end to the current campaign.

“I’ve loved every single second and I’ve learnt a lot along the way. I guess there’s been a lot of challenging times since the moment I got here, through COVID, and everything has been completely different to what I expected.

“It’s taught me a lot as a coach and I’m really proud of how I think I’ve handled certain situations, how our season unfolded last year, and I’m really proud of giving our young players the chance to develop in the Super League.”

Lam became the first person in the Super League to have both played for and been the Head Coach of the same team in the Grand Finals.

“Winning the League Leaders Shield and winning Coach of the Year was probably the highlight of my time here. I’m really grateful to the club for giving me this opportunity. I love, trust and respect the players, the coaching staff here and the fans have always been a great part of me as a player and as a coach.”

Lam was reluctant to reveal anything about what the future holds for him as his recent departure has naturally raised a few questions, but he seemed excited about the coming months ahead.

“I’ll discuss that [future plans]a little bit later on when the time is right, but the focus for me right now is to cement fourth spot which will be an incredible achievement I believe.

“With the players coming back like Sam Powell, I think we have a real opportunity to upset a few big teams and the focus is solely on leaving this club on a high note.”

When questioned what he will miss, Lam answered quite brilliantly and gave a heartfelt response to a question which showed his genuine feelings towards Wigan Warriors.

“I’ll miss the club, the town and the people of the town and the club. I’ve turned up some days thinking I was living the dream because of the people surrounding me so I’ve always had a great love for the town as a player. Second time round as a coach has been a dream come true.”

Lam showed throughout his very classy interview his never-ending love for the club, and despite his final year maybe not being as fluent as anyone would’ve liked due to constant disruptions, there is still a chance for success and silverware as Wigan look to build momentum for the play-offs and give Lam the send off he deserves.

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