Consistency is key to improved Knights campaign (From York Press)

Consistency is key to improved York City Knights campaign

3:58pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in Knights RL By Peter Martini, peter.martini@thepress.co.uk

FAR greater consistency and continued improvement. Those were the goals laid down by new player-coach Chris Thorman as York City Knights head into their tenth anniversary campaign.

The actual on-field targets for 2012 – where to finish, which clubs they need to better, how far they want to go in cups – have been described by new team captain James Ford as challenging but achievable. “If supporters knew what they were they would be quite excited,” he has said.

They are otherwise remaining in-house, but one thing Thorman has made clear is that the club need to do better than last year, when a few wonderful performances under former boss Dave Woods could not make up for several hammerings. The Knights, following promotion in 2010, finished third-bottom of the Co-operative Championship, in the drop zone, although they were spared relegation – and lifted one place in the standings – by points deductions and off-field events elsewhere.

“We must improve on last year,” said Thorman, when asked what the main aim was. “That’s not just regarding league position – the whole club needs to improve and progress.

“At the forefront of that is our performances on the field. We need to find more consistency and set higher standards for ourselves.

“Consistency is an over-used word in sport but this time I will use it because we need to find this consistency and have consistently solid performances. We need to compete in every single game we play, be it in the league, the Northern Rail Cup or Challenge Cup.”

The Knights picked up only two bonus points – for finishing within 12 points of the opposition – in 14 league defeats last term, suggesting they were not competitive enough on a regular basis.

Thorman, who arrived at the club as player/assistant-coach ahead of the 2010 campaign, said: “The bonus point was overlooked in the last two years. It is earned through solid performances and staying in the arm wrestle for the 80 minutes, having a never-say-die attitude. Hopefully we’ve got that this year.”

As for his much-changed squad, with 15 new players in the ranks, including former Super League stars Paul King, Waine Pryce, Tommy Haughey and Jordan Tansey, plus one-time Leeds dual-code starlet George Elliott, he added: “We feel we’ve done well as regards recruitment – we have a better squad with more strength in depth.

“The likes of Rhys Clarke, Matt Garside, Tom Bush and Dave Sutton will all be better off for having a season in the Championship. Plus we’ve added a lot more experience.

“The quality is much higher than it’s ever been since I came here.”

Restructuring of the Championships in 2013 means there will be no relegation from the Championship this term. The licensing system in Super League also means there is no promotion, although anyone wanting to win a franchise must still win trophies.

Thorman said: “You could say having no relegation takes pressure off but we have to keep the pressure up on ourselves and hit the standards we’ve set ourselves.

“There might not be external pressure but pressure is what you put on yourself to hit high standards every week.”

Thorman, a one-time England captain, took over the reins when Woods’ contract was not renewed in the autumn. Club stalwart Mick Ramsden and former boss Mick Cook, who has returned from Sheffield Eagles, will assist him and, while their match-day roles with Thorman on the pitch will be of particular note, the Geordie was unequivocal as regards responsibility.

“The buck stops with me. I’m the head coach and as head coach you have to be accountable,” he said.

“But Mick Cook’s been a head coach and Mick Ramsden is doing a great job. I’m going to be accountable for whatever happens on the field, that’s a given, that’s how it is. But at the same time you have to use your staff.”

Cook was the man who took the Knights to the 2005 National League Two (Championship One) title, in Ramsden’s last season as a player with his home-town club. The former resigned two years later with York back in the third tier, before joining Sheffield’s boot-room and helping the Eagles to a surprise Grand Final spot last season. Ramsden, with 15 years as a pro behind him, has been on the Knights’ backroom staff since hanging up his boots.

Thorman said: “I would be stupid not to use my coaches’ knowledge and input.

“It’s a case of communicating well – it’s really important to do that and we’ve got that. We’re good at communicating with each other and with the other people at the club, like Ian and John (general manager Ian Wilson and chief executive John Guildford).

“If, for example, Mick Ramsden would rather have person ‘A’ playing instead of person ‘B’ then he would tell me and I’d insist he tells me.”

Asked if his assistant-coaches should advise him to drop himself if he was not pulling his weight on the field, the 31-year-old said: “I’ll know if I’m playing well or not.

“I’ve got plenty of rugby league left in me. I think I’ve played well for York and I will play well again this year, like I want to every season.”

Getting through pre-season – the bulk of which was spent before Cook’s arrival – has not been simple, nor has working out a system to get the best out of the coaching set-up on the sidelines.

Thorman added: “I’m doing a lot on the coaching side but I’ve also got to be worried about my game.

“It’s been tough, these past few weeks, but the more we get into it, the more we play, the more we’ll get used to it and the easier it will be for me.”