THE misfiring star players at Glasgow Warriors have been given a big vote of confidence in their battle to rediscover the form that made them automatic choices for Scotland during the World Cup. According to assistant coach Kenny Murray, the problems experienced by the likes of Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell have been no more than a mixture of dreadful playing conditions and re-adjusting to the club's style.
He acknowledged the Warriors have yet to hit form but is confident it is just a matter of time: "There is a transition period when guys go back from the international to the club game," he said. "The expectation on these guys is really high, especially the guys mentioned, Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg.
"The expectation on them, by us as coaches, the media and the fans, is high on both these players. They need to meet those expectations and there are parts of our game that could have been better over the past couple of weeks.
"There is a process of going through the game with them, identifying what they have done well, which is a bit part of our culture. We will also look at how they can improve. Every player sets goals to work on then reviews their game and key points with the coaches. That will be a big part of their focus. It is a big part going forward."
In the last couple of weeks, both have suffered the indignity of being taken off after only 54 minutes of games –Hogg against Northampton in the European Champions Cup, Russell against Treviso at the weekend – but Murray is sure it is only a matter of time before the fans see them at their best again.
The problem is that while those two have been the ones in the spotlight, the whole team has yet to get going to display the kind of form that took them to the Guinness PRO12 title last season, and Murray accepted that three games after their World Cup players came back, they are still taking time to gel.
"The important thing [against Treviso] was to get the win, with the weather forecast going into the game we knew we had to be at our best to win it," he said. "Defensively they came with a game plan and with a tight pick-and-go game. That frustrated us a bit. We need to look at how we apply more pressure to teams who come with that kind of game plan.
"Stuart [Hogg] has looked at a few areas of his game after Northampton and Finn [Russell] needs to improve certain aspects and look at his game from the weekend, but it is not for a lack of effort that is for sure.
"I thought Stuart played really well against Treviso. In bad weather conditions like that, his coverage in the back field was top-drawer. Finn had a mixed game. By his own standards he could have played better in attack and defence."
Like all the Glasgow Warriors team, they are running out of time to hit peak form. The match against Leinster at the weekend marks the start of an intense two months, which includes five European matches and the 1872 Cup double-header against Edinburgh, that could decide their season.
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