THIS time last season, York City Knights had just recorded their first win of the year, some 12 matches in, to finally get off the mark under new coaches Paul March and James Ratcliffe.

This time around, March’s men have won eight of their opening dozen games, have progressed to the Northern Rail Cup quarter-finals and sit joint-third in Championship One, behind Hunslet on points-difference.

It is a statistic which has been somewhat overlooked given the Knights’ excellent run-in at the end of last season and the renewed expectation at the start of this.

But it’s a statistic which, in many ways, speaks volumes, showing the progress the team has made in the past 12 months and corroborating what March and Ratcliffe had been saying all along.

Twelve months ago, the pair were asking for patience off the field as they instilled new coaching methods into almost a completely new team.

They largely received it from an understanding York faithful, and now, says March, they are all reaping the rewards as they continue to tackle an increasingly tough Championship One division.

Asked what the difference had been, March said: “You can see the results are an improvement. It took time for people to gel last year. The supporters were aware it would take time. It was a brand new team, whereas this year we’ve kept 90 per cent from the end of last year.

“It showed in the friendlies, then the Northern Rail Cup and now in the league that if you keep a similar team for a number of years, you get a bit of consistency.

“It’s having people at the club who know the game-plans and how we want them to play. Last year, that was the hardest thing – getting people to play in our systems and wanting people to play for each other.

“Once we did that, we went on a run, at which point the players were happy and playing with confidence.

Ratcliffe said in pre-season that they had concentrated early preparations on building players’ basic strength and improving the team’s defence, and that seems to have paid off so far, with the second-best defensive record in the division behind leaders Dewsbury.

However, March said their coaching methods had otherwise stayed the same throughout their tenure.

“We haven’t changed anything from when we first took over,” he said.

“We’ve added a few different personnel this year but our training methods and game-plans are the same.

“We look at every game individually and we pick the team best suited for each game.”

March was quick to point out, however, that the class of 2009 had not achieved anything yet and still had a long way to go even to better the play-off performance of last year.

“Hopefully we can build on what we did last year,” he said. “We haven’t done anything yet this year but we’re heading in the right direction and hopefully we can continue to do that and bring the good times back to York.”

SUPPORTERS are reminded tickets for the Northern Rail 9s weekend and the Challenge Cup final are on sale from the Knights office.

Purchasing tickets through the Knights directly helps the club as they receive all cash from sales of 9s tickets and a percentage of the Challenge Cup final tickets.

The 9s takes place at Fylde RUFC, home of Blackpool Panthers, and tickets are priced at £9 adults and £5 concessions, which includes entry on both the Saturday and Sunday.

If the Knights make it through to the final of the Northern Rail Cup itself, then all tickets purchased through the club will be upgraded. Each club is limited to 150 tickets.

Tickets for the Challenge Cup final are priced at £26 and can also be booked by calling in at the Knights’ Roland Court Offices or by phoning 01904 758234.

THE Knights Supporters’ Club coach to the game at Rochdale tomorrow will leave Clarence Street at 11.50am, and Huntington Stadium at noon.

To book a place, phone the Supporters’ Club mobile 07958 569266 stating number of places and pick-up point. Prices are £14 for adults and £9 for under-16s.

THE Knights’ next home game, the big match against leaders Dewsbury Rams, will also see the club’s annual schools family fun day.

There will be a host of free activities that children can enjoy including Action Zone outdoor laser quest, an army assault course, a climbing wall and many other attractions. Entry for U16s is free with a special ticket that can be collected from the Knights office or from local schools.