If it's still bare ground, I'd be surprised if there was an inhabitable house there any time between now and mid-2020 at the earliest, but I'm finding it difficult to take comfort from that.

Considering he came over as such a decent bloke when he was at Salford, I have to say that I'm not getting that vibe at Wigan.

He's busy on Twitter, but never seems to mention his 'new club' - and now would be a particularly good time as the rumours are rife.

I won't pretend that I'm not getting a bit worried that we might have bought another lemon.

As a Salford fan I can guarantee he won't 'half-ass it'. In his first game for us when he had no bond with the club yet he worked so hard that he had to be taken off after half an hour as he was exhausted - still had to be dragged off though. He'll be out to prove that he wants to be there. We did enjoy the 'banter' over the last week but we all wish him well and look forward to playing you.

Whatever happened to Richie S? More rumours than Nosey Parker that bloke.

I bet him £200 to Joining Jack that Hardaker would be here at the start of the year and he disappeared once it was time to pay up. I feel bad about it to be honest as he seemed like a nice guy, just a bit easy led with rumours. RichieS - if you're reading this, come back pal, we'll forget the bet

He worked for one of the club's previous partners so probably won't get any gossip now anyway