I'M NOW confident our team can go on to prove it's the best team in the league.

The side has come on leaps and bounds and I've no doubt they are good enough to win promotion.

But there's no point just talking about it -- we've got to get out there and do it.

There's nine games to go and although it's important to be top of the league at this stage, there's still a lot of hard work to be done.

Every game is worth two points so this Saturday's match at home to Fylde is just as important as our last two against Rotherham and Bristol.

And we shouldn't bank on two points because Fylde stunned Waterloo at the weekend beating them 24-5.

We've got to perform as sides at the bottom are fighting for their lives and our fans won't need reminding Fylde gave us a real fright up there.

It took a real second half fight-back into a howling gale to get the win.

Flanker Richard Hilton-Jones has said this week we have a habit of making things hard for ourselves. The Fylde and Rugby games are prime examples.

At Rugby last week we had taken control of the game and, but for a bit of indiscipline and a forward pass, John Liley would have been under the posts to move us up to the 40 point mark.

From that point on Rugby came back at us but the pleasing factor afterwards is that the players were talking about the same things as Duncan Hall, Phil Maynard and myself, aware of things before the coaches point them out.

Our back row of Nigel Richardson, Jim Jenner and Richard Hilton-Jones was outstanding but some of that credit must go the front five building a solid foundation.

The thing we can learn from the opening round of the Five Nations was the ferocity of the Scottish rucking against Wales.

Obviously international players are highly skilled with their technical ability but the thing which impressed me was the heart and desire on display.

The difference between winners and losers is slim, so often the team which wants it most finish up on top.

Thursday, February 11, 1999.