his comments after the match in the players bar were good,he thanked both sets of fans for there support and said halifax are a good side and when he came off the stage i thanked him for his comments on halifax and yes i did have the balls to ask him about the matt calland affair which he replied its all good banter and good for the game of rugby league

I was speaking to Des outside the bar after the game and I actually found him a plaesent man who as a love for the game, I did not see him sticking a finger up at the fax fans. The Barrow fans where a fantastic bunch and a credit to their club and Rugby League allthough im not so sure your right about getting more than 3000 had the game been up at Barrow and what you have to remember is we have 3 Super League clubs near us so its harder for us to attract fans but we are getting there. Even bigger gate for next weeks game.

i heard him - he was more than complimentary to both sets of fans and both sets of players after the match

top bloke des

Maybe there is a rational explaination. I can only presume, not seeing the incident myself, that James Bunyan was at the game and Big Des mistook him for Pat Weisner and thought he would give him the finger.

Funny that, cos I walked out of the ground chatting to him and he was getting in his car...

He is a drink driver too?!?!?!

I never saw him having a drink.

If he was the (nearly?) bald guy in the suit, Then I saw him actualy blow a kiss to the guys who shouted a him - nothing else.

He seemed in Good Spirits, I gave him a bit of cheek and he laughed it off and had a positive chat with me, Like I said elsewhere, he was talking his team up in the press, and maybe got a little excited. Its the way at Some Clubs (especially where the Chairman is a moneyman) for the chairman to talk to the papers as much as or more than the coach. For example, Steve O'Connor at Widnes often is quoted in the press as saying things, but you rarely hear Michael Steele's name been quoted in the build up to games. As Calland usually does that.

I think hes a top fella, very passionate about his club and puts his money where his mouth is, the game needs people like this.

So, I take it you aren't going to give Leigh credit, when we win the GF, then?!

Most of us will be delirious if we can snatch Championship survival, at the end of this season!

I am veryfortunate in the fact that I get to meet the opposition Chairmen on matchdays. Met Des on a coupe of occasions and the man is a real character - I like him. I actually said to him that if he thinks Matt Calland's got a big mouth then what does he think of me! His response was that his comments were meant to add a bit of spice to the game and get a few more people through the turnstiles - fair play - he also agreed about my big mouth the cheeky git

He said some nice words about Halifax and he was definitely genuine in my opinion. His final comment to me was that he really hoped we get through to the Northern Rail Cup final as our fantastic fans deserved it. I know he's very passionate about his team and rightly so - the Barrow fans were a credit to their club yesterday.