IT'S good to know so many fans take a healthy interest in the team's affairs, both on and off the field.

I was particularly interested in a letter sent to me by Deborah Jane Adey regarding the fact Darren Fleary is captain of the club.

First of all, I would like to thank Deborah for taking the time to write to me.

She was puzzled as to why Darren was the captain when he is usually substituted midway through the half and doesn't come back on to the field until much later in the game.

Deborah wonders if it would be better if a player who is on the field for all the game, such as Brandon Costin or Stanley Gene, was handed the captain's armband instead.

On face value, I can see where she's coming from.

But the simple fact is that there is a great deal more to being the captain of the club than leading out the team for the match itself.

Darren is the club captain from the moment he walks onto the training field on a Monday morning to the moment the final hooter sounds to signal the end of our weekend match.

He is a vitally important leader at every training session that takes place and he is held in the very highest regard by every one of his teammates.

Darren has reached the very top of his chosen profession and always sets a standard, both on and off the field, that all his colleagues strive to achieve.

In my mind, that makes him the ideal captain of our club.

I HAVE to admit to feeling a mixture of emotions watching St Helens basking in the glory of their Challenge Cup final triumph in Cardiff.

This time last year I was, of course, assistant coach to Ian Millward at Knowsley Road.

During my two years at the club I became very close to the staff and the players, the vast majority of whom were a part of that thoroughly deserved win over Wigan.

As result, I felt absolutely elated for them as they embarked on their lap of honour.

Yet at the same time, the reality struck home as to what the Giants had just missed out on.

To mark the Challenge Cup final I invited my coaching staff around to my house for a barbecue before taking in the match.

As kick-off time drew near, Jason Davidson announced that if we had beaten Saints in the semi-final we would have just been coming off the Millennium Stadium pitch from our warm-up.

Within minutes I think we were all crying into our burgers!

Jason's statement seemed to sum up exactly how much had slipped through our grasp, and it was a very painful experience.

We were just 80 minutes away from playing in front of over 70,000 fans and being part of a fantastic occasion that captured the nation's imagination.

In the world of rugby league, games don't come much bigger than this.

But do I have any regrets about leaving St Helens and missing out on such a great day?

Not at all.

OK, it would have been nice, there's no doubt about that.

But I would rather be head coach of Huddersfield Giants than still be the assistant at St Helens.

From the moment I embarked on my coaching career around a decade ago, it was always my ambition to be the head coach of a top-flight team.

And I say this even though there is so much difference between being a head coach and an assistant.

You can take the pressure, rewards and despair and multiply it 100 times to gauge some idea of the difference between the two posts.

Yet I wouldn't give this McAlpine post away for anything right now.

Being head coach of Huddersfield Giants and working with this particular bunch of special people is a reward in itself.