York skipper looking to bow out on a high
York City Knights captain Jordan Ross is determined to lead his side to glory in the Co-operative Championship One Play-off Final on Sunday in what will be his final appearance for the club.
Having committed himself to a new life Down Under earlier this year, Ross has already delayed his departure date to help York progress through the play-off stages and with the opportunity to gain promotion in his last ever game for the club at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday, he is desperate to bow-out on a high.
“Winning the Play-off Final would mean absolutely everything to me,” said Ross. “I’m leaving the club at the end of this season and being the club captain has been a great responsibility and one that I have relished throughout my time with the club and to be given the opportunity to leave on a winning note is indescribable.
“I couldn’t put into words what it would mean for me to leave as a Play-off Final-winning captain.”
Ross’s side made it to the final after a comprehensive victory over Blackpool which set up a rematch with their first round play-off opponents Oldham, a side who have beaten them twice already this season and he is hoping to reverse that trend and give the York fans a reason to celebrate.
“We were desperate for a rematch with Oldham,” said the back row. “Now that we’ve got the chance, we believe we’re good enough to beat Oldham and we’re very grateful for the chance to go to Warrington and play for promotion in front of our loyal fans.
“The fans are very important to us as a side, our crowd isn’t always the biggest in the league but they’re certainly amongst the most vocal and they are up there with the best set of fans I have ever seen so to win for them would be fantastic.
“We were very close to beating Oldham two weeks ago and we knew we had to go out and bounce back straight away to give ourselves the opportunity of a rematch and we have done that and the boys are all very happy with the result and the mood in camp is great at the moment.”
Oldham have made it to the Play-off Final for the fourth year in a row, but having lost in all three previous appearances, Ross knows they will be desperate to clinch victory for themselves and shake the tag of “nearly men”.
“Oldham are a very good side and they’ve shown that all season,” he said. “A lot of their players are very experienced in finals, but they haven’t won yet and I hope that will count in our favour on the day.”