YORK City Knights boss James Ford hailed the influence of skipper Tim Spears not only on the squad but on the coaching staff too.

With most of the Knights’ experienced players left out on Sunday to rest niggling injuries, Spears was one of only a few older heads in the 17 for the Challenge Cup trip to Barrow Raiders.

And the veteran loose-forward, not long back from knee surgery, played the full 80 minutes as the much-changed team won 32-16 - being particularly key when his side held off a Raiders comeback, the hosts having got back to 20-16 amid of period of constant pressure throughout the third quarter.

But Ford also revealed the 34-year-old cajoled the coaching staff as well as his team-mates.

“He came back from an operation, what, three weeks ago,” quipped Ford, referring to his skipper's big shift in the engine room.

“We eased him in didn’t we – 60 minutes in his first game, 75 in his second and a good old-fashioned 80 this time.

“It’s great to have him back. He gets through a hell of a lot of work for us and is great defensively. We often use Spearsy for 80 minutes in the middle. It makes it a lot easier when we’re managing the interchanges.

“He makes everybody else better – not only in the 17 but across the squad and the coaching staff as well.

“We (the coaching staff) can’t turn up and have not done our homework because Tim would say, ‘That’s not good enough. You need to do better for us. You wouldn’t let us get away with that so we won’t let you get away with that.’

“And that’s great, it’s a great philosophy to have. I enjoy working with him and I do think there’s plenty of rugby left in him to play.”

Ford also lauded Matty Marsh’s performance, the 23-year-old switching from full-back to half-back and giving a man-of-the-match show, capped by a victory-sealing try and six goals from eight attempts.

Referring to the changes to the line-up with several of the 'leaders' left out, Ford said: “It was challenge for Marshy, playing in that new spine, taking out a lot of our dominant communicators.

“That’s one part of his game I want Matty to work on – his communication, his organisation, gripping hold of the team, gripping hold of the set, gripping hold of a game, because he has the class to influence games for us.

“That was a challenge for him and that will help his development being out there with a new combination. I was pleased with what he did, and he came up with some big plays for us.”