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Thanks lads

Dave Lawrenson
2/10/2008

SALFORD City Reds coach Shaun McRae has thanked his players for giving him ‘one of the most successful seasons’ of his coaching career.

And that is some statement considering that the affable Aussie has won Challenge Cups and Super League titles in his time.

McRae, who has seen his Salford side win the National League One Grand Final, the league leaders’ trophy and the Northern Rail Cup this season, said: "It really has been a terrific season for us.

"I’ve had success in the past but I live in the moment and I certainly rate this season very highly.

"I don’t exclude the fact that we are not in Super League and this is not the NRL. But this (the National League) is where I’ve been coaching. And to win all three of the trophies we went for this season is a great accolade for me personally and for the club as a whole.

"You can’t ask for any more than what we have achieved and the three trophies speak volumes for the character of the players. They are the ones that have done this and I have to thank them for all of their efforts this season.

"I know that people expect success from the side that has been relegated from Super League. People were saying at the beginning of the season ‘you are the favourites to do this and you are the favourites to do that’.

"But favourites get beat. We’ve had to work hard, perform well and overcome some rocky times.

"And people should remember that this is not the team that was relegated. A lot of our players weren’t here then.

"We have replaced a lot of experienced players with talented youngsters and they have done very well and shown that the future of this club is very bright."

McRae was smiling like a Cheshire cat after Sunday’s 36-18 Grand Final victory over Celtic.

But he admitted in the post-match press conference that the game could have gone either way.

McRae said: "I think we’ve all experienced every emotion today – thinking we were going to win comfortably, thinking we might win by a small scoreline and thinking we might get beat.

"It was pretty exciting stuff. Celtic and ourselves have been the two best sides in the competition and the Grand Final proved that.

"The game could have gone either way and I give my guys a lot of credit for the character that they showed to come out on top.

"Johnny Wilshere handled the pressure really well when he knocked over a difficult penalty to take the game into extra-time.

"You could see that both teams were gone in extra-time. We just came up with a few more special plays than they did and we are obviously delighted with the result."