THE news Michael De Vere will be joining us next season has understandably created a great deal of excitement throughout the rugby league world.

It's not every day a current Australian international makes the decision to join an English club.

That's why this signing has been such a major topic of conversation.

And the publicity Michael's decision to join us has provided can do the Giants no harm whatsoever.

But at the same time I've been determined to make sure this latest announcement is not allowed to be a major distraction right now.

After all, we've still got a Super League play-off spot to try and earn.

At this very moment, that's all that matters. Michael De Vere can wait.

To be honest, I haven't spoken to the players formally about the signing.

They know and I know that the major focus has to be Saturday's home game against Warrington Wolves in front of the Sky TV cameras.

After that, it's a case of concentrating on the last eight games of the regular season and then, hopefully, at least one play-off game.

So it's obvious there's far too much at stake to think about next year and who will be playing for the Giants.

If our preparation isn't spot-on for the game against Warrington, then defeat could be staring us in the face.

That's the last thing we need right now, and every step will be taken to make sure that's not allowed to happen.

IT'S sometimes difficult to gauge how much progress a club is making.

Obviously, the clearest sign is the results on the field. Head coaches ultimately live or die by these.

But there are other indicators away from the competitive arena which make you appreciate that the hard work your club is doing is not going unnoticed further afield.

The story surrounding the signing of Michael De Vere is a classic example.

About six weeks ago I received a call from Michael totally out of the blue asking if I would be interested in taking him on at Huddersfield.

I have to admit I was taken aback.

Here I was in my office talking on the phone to a current Australian Test player asking me if I could be his new coach!

At first, I didn't really know what to think.

But the more I listened to him, the more I appreciated that Michael was deadly serious.

He explained to me that, having achieved everything he possibly could in the Australian game, he was keen to challenge himself in Super League.

It had always been his ambition at some stage to play in England, and he felt that with age still on his side - he's still only 27 - the time was right to move.

Once he had made the decision to leave the Brisbane Broncos after a nine-year stint, it was then a case of deciding on the right club.

Michael immediately started asking for suggestions from friends and colleagues and began doing as much homework on thie various sources of information as possible.

Among those he first approached was Broncos teammate Darren Smith.

I had coached Darren at Saints and he suggested I might be the right coach for Michael to work with.

So when I first spoke to Michael it wasn't long before I realised he had a base knowledge of the Giants and a base knowledge of me as a coach.

And during my talks with him over the next few weeks I gained a real feel for the man, and knew he would be right for us.

This was not a young fly-by-night who was trying it on.

This was a fully-fledged Australian Test player, who had worked under the most successful coach there is in Wayne Bennett and now wanted to come and play for Huddersfield Giants.

Within three weeks of my initial talks with him, a deal was being finalised and now we can look forward to Michael playing in the claret and gold next season.

And what an asset he will prove to be!

With Michael in the side we will be a better team and will have far more organisation.

He will obviously be a strike centre for us and will also assume the chief goalkicking role, something that many supporters feel we need.

Michael's arrival is a big thing. He's powerful and a great defender.

But he's also an intelligent players who knows how to make the right decisions at the right times.

In Michael De Vere I know we have got one of the world's best!