Super League or nothing for Terzis

When Leigh make their third stab at securing Super League status against Huddersfield, at the Halton Stadium on Saturday, they will not only be playing for their own futures but also, in the most immediate sense, for that of their coach.

Paul Terzis has known since mid-season that if Leigh do not gain promotion he would have no job."I don't want to let him go, but if we don't go up we won't be able to afford him," says the Leigh chairman, Mike Nolan. "It's as simple as that."

Terzis is philosophical about the situation. "It goes with the territory," he says of the uncertainty. "I was a bit disappointed when it was made public, but it doesn't worry me now. I just really enjoy being around the players and the club."

Terzis and Leigh have already had two near misses and cannot afford another. Two years ago, after he had taken over from his good friend Ian Millward in mid-season, they lost the Grand Final to Dewsbury by a single point. Last year, after dominating the Northern Ford Premiership campaign, they were ambushed in the play-offs by Widnes, who went on to win promotion and thrive in Super League this year. It still ranks as a frustrating missed opportunity. "Whatever Widnes have done this season, we would have done," he insists.

The plans are in place to prove that case next season, with 15 players knowing that they will be retained in the event of promotion, and some, by definition, knowing that they will not. "Whatever lies ahead, the club's got a great future," says Terzis. "If they're in the NFP next season, they'll be up at the top. If we're in Super League, we won't be down at the bottom."

Leigh's two heavy defeats by Huddersfield this season suggests that the first of those options is the more likely, but their season has been geared to beating last year's relegated side in the one game that matters.

With their full-time squad, Huddersfield have dominated the NFP this season even more completely that Leigh did last, but that will all amount to nothing if Leigh overturn the form-book on Saturday. Terzis's recruitment this year has been based around that strategy; some have been short-term signings which will be considered a success if they help to win one game – the one on Saturday evening.

The former St Helens forward Vila Matautia, back from one of his many suspensions, falls into that category. "I brought him here for one reason and one reason only, to get us into Super League," says Terzis. The same applies to Bobbie Goulding, who, despite his conviction that he is still a Super League player, was shown the door at relegated Salford in mid-season and has been striving to regain his lost status in defiance of a worrying spate of black-outs.

"He's been having them for quite a while," says Terzis. "He's got the results back from a scan and been given the all-clear, so it must be something else. He'll go in for checks at the end of the season."

Leigh have also recruited strike players with Super League credentials in Jon Roper, Dale Cardoza, Leon Felton and Ollie Marns. "We haven't always played to our potential, but when we click, there isn't a team in the division that can live with us, including that team whose name I won't mention," Terzis said after the shaky win over Batley last Sunday.

He will be judged by whether Leigh click on Saturday. The result will determine whether he coaches alongside his predecessor, Millward, next season or starts looking for a job elsewhere. With Millward, a product of the same club, Illawarra, taking St Helens to the last hurdle before their own Grand Final tomorrow night, it is a big weekend for both of them, but Terzis has always been wary of being regarded as a Millward clone. "Ian's the best man-manager in the game, including anyone in Australia. I see my expertise more on the technical and skills side of things. We bounce ideas off each other, but I'm more of a speculator. I'm a dare-to-be-different person, always searching for what's next in the game."

And on Saturday night Paul Terzis will find what is next in the game for him: being carried into Super League on a wave of acclaim. Or unemployment.