March in market for Sully after bagging first victory

9:23am Monday 28th April 2008

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YORK City Knights - still on a high after tasting victory for the first time this season - were today hoping to receive another major boost.

The Knights won 50-10 at Blackpool on Saturday to get up and running in National League Two, and they followed that up with an enjoyable day in the national spotlight as the reserves played in the Dwain Chambers friendly yesterday.

And, today, they were expecting to hear back from former Player of the Year Adam Sullivan about a possible return to Huntington Stadium.

Other clubs, including NL1 sides Dewsbury, Batley and Featherstone, as well as NL2 big-spenders Doncasters, were thought to be on the trail of the 25-year-old prop forward, and so there was a possibility of his signing elsewhere.

However, the Knights had not heard back from the former Hull KR starlet and were hoping for good news today.

A contract offer went out to Sullivan last week, following his return to England after a season with French Elite League club Lyon.

He had gone across the Channel in October, bringing to an end a three-and-a-half year stint at Huntington Stadium in which he became the Knights' foremost prop, winning the Press Player of the Year award in the 2005 NL2 title-winning campaign.

He said upon his departure that York would be a potential destination should he return to England, due to his relationship with the club and the fans.

Knights player-boss Paul March was hoping to have him on board.

"Everybody here would like to see him back in a Knights shirt," he said.

"He will bring consistency. When he was here before, he was a very consistent performer. He's gone out to France and he's been consistent there as well. He was voted the Players' Player of the Year over there so all the lads appreciated what he did for the team. Hopefully he can bring that to the Knights."

Whether Sullivan joins or not, the club were already lifted by Saturday's confidence-boosting victory.

It was the Knights' biggest win since a 58-12 defeat of Gateshead on the opening day of the 2007 season and, although Blackpool have won just once this year, only NL1 big-guns Widnes have put more points past them.

Knights assistant-boss James Ratcliffe said it was much-deserved result, and not before time.

"We prepared really well in the week and it showed on the field with the result we've all been waiting for for so long," he said.

"I like to coach with players' smiles on their faces. We looked like we played with a smile on our face. We've been inventive. People have been asked to come to the front and put a lot of things right.

"A lot of decisions came off for us and that was due to teamwork and through people doing the unselfish things.

"From one to 17, we've applied that and it shows the players can have belief. If they buy into what we're trying to achieve, the results will follow."

However, Ratcliffe warned that "one swallow does not make a summer".

"The team spirit has never wavered," he said. "But I've said to them the hard work starts now. We've given ourselves a result to work on the back of."