Wakefield head coach Mark Applegarth accepted responsibility for his side’s relegation from the Betfred Super League after their dramatic 20-19 golden point defeat at Leigh.

Applegarth said he was “hurt” by his side’s failure to extend their unlikely survival battle into the final week of the season but said they would face up to the prospect of Championship rugby next year.

He said: “I’m hurt, it stings, and as head coach the responsibility is on my shoulders.

“It sunk in as soon as I saw that drop goal go over. All I can do is apologise to our fans but I can tell them that we will be back.

“I’d like to think most of the fans can’t question any of the lads’ efforts. Skill, execution and composure is probably what has let us down, but definitely not effort.”

Wakefield’s survival bid looked bleak after Tom Briscoe opened the scoring for Leigh with just four minutes on the clock but two opportunist tries from Lee Kershaw early in the second half pulled them back on level terms.

Gareth O’Brien’s late drop goal looked to have won it for Leigh before Luke Gale kicked Wakefield into the extra period with just 19 seconds left on the clock – only for O’Brien to convert the decisive effort of a frantic extra period.

Applegarth was left to reflect on a season in which a stirring recovery could not hide the fact that 14 straight defeats at the start of the season proved too much to overcome.

“Ultimately the league table doesn’t lie and we weren’t good enough,” added Applegarth.

“We’ve got some tough decisions to make and we’ve got some improvements to make. We’ve got to be honest with each other and look at why this has happened.

“My job is to make sure we bounce straight back up. They (Leigh) flirted with it over the last few years and they’ve nailed it, so there’s a blueprint to follow right there.

“Mark my words, we will be back in Super League, and hopefully at the first time of asking.”

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam admitted his side were far from their best but praised their accomplishment at sealing a top six place with one week of the regular season still to go.

“I think we just looked a bit less tired after last week,” admitted Lam.

“There was a lot of stop-start to the game that kept them in it, and they got two tries against the run of play from dropped balls, so I was a bit nervous towards the end.

“But we just find a way to win this year in those situations, which has been so impressive with this bunch of boys and so many players out.

“I think some other clubs may have rolled over tonight but they just got bigger and stronger as the game went on.

“We’ve now got to try to build some confidence and belief off the back of that, and make sure we take it on.”

Wigan head coach Matt Peet has backed his side to emerge stronger from last week’s agonising golden-point defeat to Betfred Super League whipping boys Wakefield.

The Warriors look to re-ignite their play-off hopes against neighbours Warrington on Friday having endured a week of tough soul-searching on the back of the dramatic 27-26 loss.

Peet’s men led three times at Belle Vue, including by eight points late in the second half, before Trinity scrambled level and Will Dagger’s extra-time kick secured the precious win for the bottom side.

It was an uncharacteristic performance in what has been a relatively consistent season for Wigan and Peet admitted: “It was important the players and staff took it hard and understood it was one we got wrong.

“If we’d been more hard-nosed and ruthless in the last 10 minutes, we might have got away with the two points, and I’m confident if we get put in the same position this week, we’ll manage the game better.

“You have to learn some lessons that hurt sometimes. You wish you didn’t have to go through that process, but if the outcome is a hungrier and more intelligent team, then we can turn it into a positive.”

Wigan’s shock loss saw them slip to fourth in a congested league table, better off by points difference than Friday’s opponents, the early pace-setters whose season has come off the rails following five defeats in their last six league games, albeit showing a marked improvement in last week’s tight loss to St Helens.

The Warriors, who have a Challenge Cup semi-final against Hull KR next week, have also announced a new four-year deal for homegrown hooker Brad O’Neill, who has made an increasing impact of late in a position in which Peet is not short of options.

“This is the only place I want to be and I’m glad to be here for the next four years,” said the 20-year-old, who came through the club’s scholarship and academy systems.

“I won the Challenge Cup last season and my dream is to win more with this club. Last week was a really tough game but we came back in on Monday and learned some really harsh lessons.

“You can take positives from learning how to play in those different kinds of pressure moments. We’ll learn massive amounts from last Friday and hopefully we’ll take it forward into these big games that are coming up.”