STEVE Price has a decision to make.

After Warrington Wolves’ marquee signing Gareth Widdop went over on his ankle in training last week, his much-anticipated partnership with Blake Austin will have to be put on hold.

With Widdop expected to miss the first three rounds of the Super League season, The Wire need somebody to fill the void alongside Austin.

When Kevin Brown was struck down by a longer-term Achilles injury at a similar stage last year, Price was adamant that Declan Patton would be given as much time as possible to deputise and make the shirt his own.

While Patton will be favourite to step in again this time around, Price was less committal about his chances of partnering Austin when the campaign gets underway with a trip to Wigan Warriors in a fortnight’s time.

He insisted the door was open for anybody who wanted to take the chance and that no decision will be made until next week at the earliest.

“Whoever gets that jersey for the opening game, I’m confident they will do a very good job,” he said.

“The door is open to replace him. There’s a number of players who are putting their hand up for Gaz’s position so time will tell.

“We’ve still got a bit of time on our hands – we’ve got a week on camp and Mike Cooper’s testimonial before we open up.

“Once we’ve got those out of the way, I will make my decision on it.”

Warrington Guardian:

Could we see Declan Patton partner Blake Austin again? Picture by Mike Boden

The squad are currently continuing their build-up to the 2020 season some 1,600 miles from Warrington on their training camp in Portugal.

Widdop has remained in England to continue treatment on his injury as preparations continue in his absence.

They have been at Brown’s Sports Resort in Vilamoura for four days and will remain there until flying home on Sunday.

Having promised a more entertaining style of play this season following a disappointing end to 2019, Price says that will start to take shape this week.

“We’re in pursuit of excellence and as a coaching group, we have to stay ahead of the game,” he said.

“We’ve got to be better and we understand that.

“There’s a few new drills that we’ve added in with regards to our style of play. We’ll be working in the next couple of weeks to see what that looks like.

“It’s healthy at the moment – there’s a really good belief among the players and coaches and a strong belief in what we’re trying to achieve.”