SALFORD’S KOUKASH BLASTS BACK AT LEEDS BOSS
EVERY single Salford Red Devils player is 100 per cent focused as we prepare for the start of the middle eights on Sunday.
While we are somewhat disappointed to have missed out on finishing in the top eight, we feel we are not too far away and will continue to work towards this.
Tim Sheens and the entire Salford coaching staff have all the power and financial reserves at their disaposal to help them carry on building a competitive, quality squad.
As far as I am concerned, no official approaches have been made to us from rival clubs for any of our contracted players, including Theo Fages, who asked to be transfer listed.
Tim has a very important role to play for us in the building of the club. He also knows that if someone does not want to be at this club at the end of the season we will not stand in their way, providing the price is right.
Right now, though, we have the middle eights to contest.
This dominates the next few weeks.
I am back, fully refreshed from a family holiday, but I was very angry and upset with comments made by the Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McDermott after the team lost heavily at Headingley.
What Brian said about me after the game was out of order.
I just wish what he had come out with had been the truth. There was no need for what he did.
I would also be very unhappy if my own coach was to publicly hit out and criticise what the Leeds boss Gary Hetherington does.
Brian blamed me for the defeat and claimed I had too much influence on the team.
I have a lot of respect for him as a coach but really did feel like telling him it would have been better for him to have kept his mouth firmly shut on this occasion.
It was utter rubbish what he was coming out with.
All teams will have bad days and suffer heavy defeats. We had one of those at Leeds.
What they did to us is only what they can do to
Brian McDermott’s comments came after Leeds’ 70-6 win over Salford last month (above) any other side in the competition.
I would like to take Brian back to Easter when the same group of Salford players could and should have beaten his Leeds team but for a very poor refereeing performance.
We deserved to beat Leeds that day. Same players, same owner.
We are definitely not as bad as the result at Headingley suggested.
Brian should know better than anyone how tough it is to build a team and start from scratch.
He spent many years in London struggling and losing heavily.
He then inherited a quality Leeds team after Tony Smith had done so much ground work.
This has now gone, though, and I will shake his hand the next time we meet. I still respect him but needed to point out how annoyed I was.