HAPPY to be back as Super League top dogs - and intend to stay there! That was the message from Saints' boss Shaun McRae (PICTURED) after the win over Halifax which restored the side to pole position.

WHITTLE: Some of the points I raised last week bore fruit because Sunday at Knowsley Road was a free-flowing feast and a certain tightening in defence. Any comment on these thorny issues?

McRAE: Plenty, and first of all to say that after our bad night at Bradford it was great the Bulls gave Saints a second chance by beating Wigan, but there was the not-inconsiderable matter of Halifax to be dealt with first.

Heading the Super League for so long and then being toppled was a shock to the system, and there was much soul-searching at Knowsley Road last week which saw Saints on the back foot before the they took the field.

However, the lads meant business and commitment was there for the full 80 minutes and I totally agree that a adventurous approach is what the fans want, although we turned the ball over a few times early on.

To be brutally frank, I believe Saints should have been 30 to 40 points up by half-time. But we had to settle for 22-8 for any number of reasons, not least faulty finishing and on occasion sheer bad luck, but that is how it goes and you have to learn to take the rough with the smooth.

From a defensive angle, I was quite satisfied with Saints' first-half effort in conceding just a single try, but less than pleased that lack of concentration let Halifax in for two in the second period.

On an individual note it is a little-known fact that neither Bobbie Goulding, Chris Joynt or Vila Matautia were completely fit to play, but with so much at stake they were confident they could stay the pace.

As for double man-of-the-match winner Keiron Cunningham what can one say, except to agree with the general opinion that at just 19 he is already a super star, and the sky's the limit for a level-headed youngster always seeking self improvement and with the right attitude.

Overall then a superb team performance and once again a vote of thanks to Bradford Bulls for loosening the noose round Saints' necks.

WHITTLE: Gazing into the crystal ball whom do you see as the biggest threat to Saints' in the six-match Super League run-in?

McRAE: Without sitting on the fence all of them! Saints now face four successive away matches and two of them ie Oldham and London Broncos, could have a mathematical top-four chance, while Castleford and Paris will be anxious to get away from the bottom of the table.

It would obviously be nice to get through that little lot with eight points before winding up the Super League programme with home matches against Sheffield Eagles and Warrington, but there again they could be in with a chance of a play-off spot. So Saints are not counting their chickens before they are hatched, but winning the title in its inaugural season would be a tremendous fillip because league football is a more accurate barometer of a season's consistency than 'sudden death' cup-ties.

WHITTLE: A Cup and League double in prospect for the first time in 30 years; Paul Newlove and Danny Arnold topping the try charts and Bobbie Goulding likewise in the goal-kicking list. Heady days indeed at Knowsley Road, don't you think?

McRAE: Without doubt. But without dismissing them as an irrelevance personal statistics are side-issues both to the players and myself. What matters most is that that12 Super League points remain on offer and, as I have told you before, I believe in taking one game at time, starting at Boundary Park, Oldham, tomorrow night.

WHITTLE: Can you shed any more light on the position regarding Kiwi forward Julian O'Neill?

McRAE: Not really, beyond saying that I understand Warrington have dropped their interest, and in view of this it would appear that O'Neill could shortly be on his way to Knowsley Road.

WHITTLE: One has the impression that the injury situation is beginning to ease. True or false?

McRAE: You make statements such as that at your peril in this physically-demanding game of Rugby League, but yes it is fair to say that, particularly in view of a trouble-free report from the Halifax game.

Taking the downside first Anthony Sullivan will be missing for another three weeks because of a 'dead' leg, as will Simon Booth with ongoing ankle ligament problems, while Andy Leathem will sit out the trip to Oldham with a shoulder injury.

On a happier note Tommy Martyn could be back in the Alliance team versus Oldham at Knowsley Road tonight, when the Saints' line-up will also once again include Dean Busby, who could be on the bench at Oldham 24 hours later.

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