YORK City Knights boss Mick Cook might be developing a "Tinkerman" image for himself - but he is unconcerned by such a tag.

The nickname was originally devised last year for former Chelsea football boss Claudio Ranieri after he altered his line-ups on a weekly basis, seemingly willy-nilly.

Such a moniker is now being passed on to Cook by some Knights fans as he, too, chops and changes his team regularly, not least in pivotal positions. Indeed, he is yet to field the same team twice on the trot.

But while Ranieri was rumoured to hate the nickname, Cook seems unmoved. "I hadn't really heard about this 'Tinkerman' thing," said the Knights boss, whose side lie joint-top of LHF National League Two.

"I'm not really worried about it. We're just looking to get the best out of everybody individually and collectively, with everybody in the squad playing for a place."

Cook, who has previously championed the benefits of squad rotation, reckons rugby league has become more than a 13 or even 17-man game, believing clubs need to use entire squads in their battle for trophies.

And he stressed his 'tinkerings' were far from slapdash.

"Everybody has got different opinions but we analyse the games in great depth. It's as good an analysis as you'd get anywhere, especially in our league.

"All the lads get their own personal tape of their involvement in the game and they get a fair bit of feedback.

"We sit down as a staff and discuss every issue as regards team selection and we pick a team that we think will win a game on the day.

"Sometimes it's horses for courses, sometimes it's because we feel someone's performance has dropped. Sometimes we feel it's fair to give somebody a chance, sometimes it's to reward players who have bust a gut in training to improve themselves.

"And, of course, there are injuries."

Added the Knights coach: "There are various reasons. We don't just say, 'Let's chuck him in this week,' but rather we take lots of things into consideration and look at things in great detail.

"It's all done in a structured manner. It's not a case of leaving blokes out for the sake of it. Yes, we do rotate some around a bit, but that's life."

He added: "People respond to being left out differently. Sometimes it seems harsh but that's the coaching staff's call.

"You've got to try to keep the squad happy but it's difficult if you've got about 25 players with good ability and you can only pick 17.

"That's probably one of the worst parts of the job - they all train hard all week to play but we can only pick 17.

"At the end of the day, a coach lives and dies by his team selection and hopefully players will respond and do the job."

Updated: 10:49 Wednesday, May 25, 2005