IAN Millward will be missed in British rugby league if he doesn't get another job over here and returns to Australia.
I'm not 100 per cent sure what's happened as regards his sacking by St Helens, which was confirmed last week, though there's quite a bit of speculation at the moment.
It has been reported that the allegations made against him by the club's chairman regarded swearing and verbal abuse against, on different occasions, a Warrington official, match officials and Saints' own media relations man, who had let Wigan's Brian Carney watch a training session.
At Super League level they are understandably very secretive about training sessions. Some sessions need to be kept private and you naturally don't want opponents viewing them or getting an idea of your game plan.
But I don't really want to comment on any of the allegations as I don't know the ins and outs. However, while I understand the pressure Super League coaches are under, all coaches are ambassadors for their clubs and rugby league and must work within that context.
Ian is a bit of a character who was loved by the St Helens fans. They stayed in the ground till about midnight after our game at Saints the other week to show their disapproval at the board's decision. He will be missed by them and as a coach over here if he goes.
He's very experienced and, of course, is the most successful coach in Super League history. Daniel Anderson, who was appointed as Saints new coach yesterday, has a tough job to follow.
How all this controversy will affect the players there remains to be seen, though they didn't look in the ball game against Hull at the weekend. Don't take anything away from Hull, who are very competitive and really ripped into them, but Saints struggled - everything they tried did not seem to work and the harder they tried, the worse things got.
It was one of those days, but as regards whether Millward's departure will have a long-lasting effect, it's fair to say they have enough senior players, real quality like Paul Sculthorpe, Sean Long and Keiron Cunningham, to get back on track, and former New Zealand boss Anderson is a quality coach.
The pressure will be on in their derby against Widnes this week but they're only four points behind leaders Leeds and they're still right in the mix. They will have to put the Ian Millward thing behind them and get back on their job.
I myself didn't apply for the post! I've got a big enough job to do at York and we've got our own campaign to fight.
Our next game is an important one against Hunslet, who are going to ruffle some feathers here and there this season.
We're hoping for a big attendance on Sunday to hopefully back us on to victory.
The club are staging a big family day, with some tag rugby and various other entertainments, and they're trying to encourage loads of youngsters and families to come.
I don't really get involved in that side of things at the club, but I think they're doing a great job. It all lifts the profile of the club and really promotes the game.
Development officers Jason Ramshaw and Ian Wilson have promoted the sport within schools superbly, covering a huge area and helping to get the game played in loads of schools.
It's all good for the club and for the long-term future of the club and the sport as a whole in the area.
Updated: 11:33 Wednesday, May 18, 2005
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