Wakefield coach John Kear believes his side will have to improve before facing champions Leeds despite seeing off Catalans Dragons on Sunday afternoon.
Youngster Dale Morton crossed twice as the Wildcats recovered from 16-10 down in the second half to see off the French side 28-20 for its second Engage Super League win.
Catalans were without playmaker Thomas Bosc and suffered a further blow on the morning of the game as full-back Clint Greenshields went down ill.
Kear did not believe their absences were a factor in the result but still saw plenty of scope for improvement.
He said: "I don't care who dropped out before kick-off or who they had unavailable, the 17 players that represent Catalans Dragons are 17 good players.
"It is a good win but there are areas to improve on and that will give us plenty to do during the week before next Sunday's game against Leeds.
"There was some pleasing rugby league and it is pleasing to see the new guys come in and contribute to a team effort.
"But [Catalans] are always tough, they are big and physical.
"They posed lots of problems for us but we like to think we posed lots for them as well."
Kear also paid tribute to the efforts of 19-year-old winger Morton, whose tries added to further scores from Glenn Morrison, Dale Ferguson and Luke George.
Kear said: "He plays well and takes his tries well and it's testament to the junior coaching they are receiving here."
The main area of concern for Wakefield was an injury to Paul Johnson. The former Warrington utility man left the field just minutes after coming off the bench for his debut.
But Kear said: "He came on and just got cleaned out in an illegal tackle.
"He's got a headache but he should be all right for selection next week."
Catalans twice led in the game after tries from Dimitri Pelo, Olivier Elima and Sebastian Martins.
But Wakefield shaded the second half and Chris Walker's late effort proved mere consolation.
Coach Kevin Walters refused to use injuries as an excuse and said: "We still had a good squad and I don't think it disrupted the team too much.
"Our first half was OK but in the second half we just lost our way a bit with our discipline.
"It was a pretty even game until half-time but they were better in the second half.
"Wakefield are very hard to beat here and they showed their colours again.
"We have got a lot of things to work on but that is what this time of year is about."