Burke’s hungry to win silverware with Red Devils

A LOT has changed for Greg Burke since the end of last season - he’s added a little boy to his growing family and experienced an unexpected coaching switch at Salford.

The former Wigan Warriors forward’s extended contract at the AJ Bell Stadium was announced a day after Richard Marshall was confirmed as the new Red Devils head coach.

It was a situation that, naturally, led to some apprehension for Burke, who had been brought to the club by Watson midway through 2018 from a Widnes Vikings side that would ultimately be relegated at the end of the year.

“I had agreed the new deal to work under Watto,” explained Burke. “At the time we all thought he was going to be here - and I think he did as well, to be fair but that changed and Rich came in.

“There is a bit of apprehension when that happens, you start to think ‘well, does this new coach want me? Am I his type of player? Does he rate me?’ The little doubts, little questions start to come into your thinking.

“But if I’m honest, he’s been really, really good. He’s been really good with me personally, giving me time with the newborn, and everything in terms of training and pre-season has been really enjoyable.”

Burke was one of Salford’s most consistent performers in the back end of the disrupted 2020 Super League campaign and immediately made clear to his new coach that he has ambitions of remaining one of the Red Devils’ key men.

“I spoke to Rich as soon as he came in,” said Burke. “I just wanted to have a good, honest chat with him about what I feel I can do for the team and what I’m about.

“One of my goals is to be one of the players that are in the forefront of his mind when he’s picking his team every week.

“I came into the side after the Leeds game last year, we got beat off Leeds just after the restart, and after that, I was in the team and I played every game. I was really happy with how I played, especially with what was going on.

“That was something that I wanted to get across to Rich, that I want to be one of the players he can look at. Lee Mossop is the captain so he’s going to play every week and I want to be one of those who is the next one who is playing.

“By no means am I saying I don’t want to fight for my spot, that’s exactly what I will be doing. I want to be playing every week and I want to build on these last two years we’ve had as a club. We want to win a competition. I played in both finals and I’d waited a long time in my career to get to those spots, so it was heartbreaking to lose.”