Continuing The Build Up To The Final Match Of The Season And The Last Under The Name Of Salford City Reds, David Clegg Meets Up With Salford Born, Widnes Coach, Dennis Betts
When Dennis Betts was appointed to the post of Head Coach, at Friday’s opponents, Widnes Vikings, he faced an unbelievably mammoth recruitment task, the like of which can scarcely be imagined. To put together a team, capable of competing in Super League for a full season, in as little as four months and within a specified budget, was nothing short of a Herculean task, particularly when you consider that virtually every player of Super League calibre had already been signed up to one of the other thirteen clubs.
Comparing that with the recruitment drive currently being undertaken by the Red Devils is enough to turn him green with envy, so vastly different are the circumstances surrounding the moves to bring glory, once more, to the Reds. Not that Dennis is in any way resentful of the potential reawakening of hopes and ambitions at the Salford City Stadium – far from it. He would just have liked to have been in that position, himself, two years ago.
Unsurprisingly, Dennis is more than a little pleased at the thought of Salford being a major factor in next season’s competitions, as his first introduction to the game, as a young lad growing up near to the Willows, was in watching the likes of David Watkins, Chris Hesketh and Keith Fielding wowing the vast crowds which used to turn up, on a regular basis, back in the seventies. He, naturally, wanted to emulate these stars, and of course he did, but sadly not in a Salford jersey.
His playing future was probably charted out the moment he chose, as a young amateur, to join Leigh Miners Welfare, because the close proximity of Central Park, Wigan, meant that they could hardly fail to take notice of his obvious talent, and so it was with the cherry and whites that he was to make his name, over a long and illustrious career, after signing with them as a sixteen year old. Denis certainly has no regrets over this, whatsoever. He says quite simply that he was always extremely happy at Wigan and never really wanted to play for anyone else. This is hardly surprising when one considers the numerous successes that came their way in the late eighties and early nineties.
His connection with Salford continued, however, when shortly after he had joined Wigan, his brother, Darren signed for the Reds. Unfortunately, Darren had come into the game a little too late, and so the majority of his appearances were with the ‘A’ team, although he did turn out a couple of times with the senior side. Putting sibling rivalry aside, the brothers were genuinely proud of each other’s achievements. Those supporters who remember Darren may be interested to learn that he now has a career in the police force, having been a postman in his playing days.
So with both his own personal history and family connections, Dennis has been watching developments at the Salford City Stadium with growing interest. His assessment is that it all looks extremely rosy, with a wonderfully ambitious new owner, an excellent head coach, and it is quite evident through the announcements that have been made already on the recruitment front. that everything is going completely to plan. The only problem that he sees, in this area, is in fact the salary cap. This, though, is an issue for every club.
For next season, however, he has concern over attendances which he feels really need to improve by means of a new generation of supporters. With the marvellous new stadium, coupled with a winning team, he is hopeful that people will rally round to become involved, thereby laying this issue to rest. He is particularly pleased with the decision within the rebranding process of the change of name to Red Devils, which he is delighted to say will return the club to its roots.
With two previous games between the two sides having been shared equally, Dennis claims that he and his squad are really up for Friday night’s decider. He considers that it is of vital importance to every team to finish on a high, for unlike every other match throughout the season, when there is a game the following week to consign the previous one to the history books, the memory of this concluding encounter will linger much longer. He is, therefore, both keen and eager to show the Widnes fans that his side have shown obvious improvement throughout 2013, and bring them the pleasure of a win to talk about during close season.
Of the Salford team, which stands in his way, he is somewhat wary. With all the young players, recently promoted, they appear to him to be something of an unknown quantity, which makes them harder to plan against. He is also aware that the shrewdness of his opposite number, Brian Noble, has led to his simplifying the Salford game plan, which in turn makes that harder to break. He is, nevertheless, confident that his key players of Mellor, Brown, Hanbury and Kavanagh can sufficiently inspire the remainder of the side to see the Vikings home with a win.
We shall see.
If you too wish to make your impact from the terraces get your ticket from the Salford City Stadium, or telephone 0844 8880200, or online via thereddevils.net
