That's entertainment! York City Knights boss hopes fans went home happy after big win over Barrow Raiders

Ford’s men scored nine tries and a penalty without reply in a stunning 56-0 victory in front of a near 2,000 crowd which lifted the Knights up to third in the early Betfred Championship standings after two wins and one defeat.

York had not beaten Barrow in their 13 previous meetings, home or away, since July 2007 – but this result made a mockery of that so-called hoodoo, and Ford hailed his team’s entertainment value too.

“Ultimately we want to win games and get as many league points as possible, but at the same time you’ve got to respect that the fans work hard all week to pay good money to watch sport,” he reasoned.

“Part of that is that we’ve got to provide an entertaining product and I feel we do – or we certainly try to – and I hope they went hope thoroughly entertained after that performance.

“We haven’t got the biggest side but we’ve signed very good athletes and people who can play good football as well. We want to play the game fast, move the ball and get shaped up and challenge people mentally with how we play the game.

“There is more than one way to skin a cat but I don’t believe in ramming the ball up the middle and trying to beat a team that way. We want to entertain our supporters and I believe how we play the game is the right way to do that.

“I thought the fans were great. Barrow’s fans travelled in numbers and got behind their team well but I thought our fans were superb – very vocal and big numbers. Hopefully we can continue to grow our fanbase.

“There’s a real positive vibe about rugby league in and around York and York City Knights and we need to capitalise on that and keep moving forward.”

Ford also had a word for his team’s efforts in defence, adding: “We did play some expansive stuff, some high-tempo stuff, but probably the thing that pleases me most is keeping a team like Barrow to zero.”

Ford, himself without a victory over the Raiders as a coach in six previous encounters, admitted he did not expect such a comprehensive win.

Kicking a penalty to eke three scores up at 14-0 suggested they anticipated a tight game.

“We’ve got an immense amount of respect for Barrow, the individuals in their team and their coach,” said Ford.

“We were confident we could win the game but we were prepared to work very hard for that win. We knew we would be tested physically.”

On going for goal with that penalty, he reasoned: “I probably did expect it to be a lot closer, and we thought going three scores up rather than two could be important.

“We respect Barrow – they carry a lot of threat - and I did at the time think those two points could be vital. Luckily for us, they weren’t.”

Asked about the factors behind the manner of this victory, he said: “The players work really hard at this club and they’re always striving to be better, and I’m delighted they will get the rewards and the praise that will follow an effort like that.

“We won last week (at Dewsbury), and we worked hard and played well against Toronto in the first week. But the philosophy from the players is they want to get better every week and that will see this team continue to improve.

“We don’t want to rest on our laurels and I think you saw that here. Even at 40-odd to nil, the boys were still focussed, concentrating and executing to a high level, and if they weren’t, they would pick themselves up on it.”

Asked if the good playing conditions helped, he added: “The conditions favoured us. It was a lovely day and it’s a fantastic surface at Bootham Crescent – it suits how we want to play the game, with a high tempo and plenty of ball movement."

He quipped: “I would much rather play in those conditions than in a tremendous bog.”

He added of “all 17” who played: “They were very good and I’m pleased I can say that without any ‘buts’. I’m looking forward to showing the highlights to the players on Tuesday.

“But there is a ‘but’, and that’s that we need to strive for consistency.”