Bailey: 'It's the league that counts'

THE Siam Cup victory should be used as a springboard for Guernsey to move on to bigger and better things. That was what captain Andy Bailey emphasised as he looked ahead to what direction the club needs to take following Saturday's 17-8 win in Jersey.

And the good news is that the nucleus of the current squad is expected to be available next season.

'A mistake we possibly made two years ago when we won the Siam was that we thought: ?this is as good as it gets?,' Bailey said.

'This time we need to use it to take our rugby to a level we have never been before - to see what this club and this team is made of.

'The Siam is a one-off game, which is a fantastic occasion and I would not belittle it at all, but people can lose sight of where you are trying to get when you have won it.

'What's going to improve our standard is the league we are playing in.'

Even in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's triumph, Bailey spoke about the need to take the club forward and putting a business plan in place for the long-term future.

'One of the worst things for me at the weekend was that none of our youth teams won,' he said.

'We have to look at our structure and getting our kids playing quality rugby to bring the talent through.

'The long-term aim has to be a successful first team made up mainly of locally developed players and we have to get a structure in place to achieve that and to attract investment to make these things happen.'

Bailey described the first team as the 'shop window' for young players to aspire to reaching that level and also for potential sponsors to invest in a successful venture.

That is why he has set the bar high when outlining his ambitions for next season.

'Speaking from a captaincy point of view, our short-term targets are to win the league next season, gain promotion and retain the Siam. To do that is not going to be easy, but it is achievable,' he said.

'We believe everyone who played this season wants to do so again next season and we have got a good base to go and achieve our aims.'