Kear gets Warriors' role I CAN exclusively reveal to BEN readers that John Kear will be starting as our assistant coach from Monday.

Since I came to Wigan, I have had to fulfil many roles that I did not have to at my old club Castleford. This is why I need an assistant to help me with analysis of players and one to one coaching. John is an experienced coach who is familiar with our players thanks to his recent international involvement and will be a great addition to our team.

There has been plenty of conjecture surrounding our Australian stand-off Matthew Johns and I would like to put the record straight to BEN readers.

Matthew approached the club recently to say that he might need to cut short his contract with the club because of family health problems back home in Australia.

However, contrary to some reports, he has not yet asked for a release from the club - he merely pre-warned the club that this might be a possibility in the near future. Matthew is very happy at Wigan and would like to see out the remainder of his two-year deal if possible. However, we at the club realise that family comes first and would not stand in Matthew 5/8s way should he feel the need to return home.

For the time being, Matthew is very much a Wigan player and, regardless of what ensues, will be at least until the end of the season. He is very keen to add himself to an elite list of players that have won Grand Finals on both sides of the world.

In the meantime, we play Wakefield at Belle Vue this Sunday and then we have three home games in succession (Salford, Hull then London.) We are offering our fans the chance to buy three tickets for the price of two. We feel this offer is unprecedented (We are basically offering the London game for free!) but it expires next Wednesday. Fans can get tickets for all three games by visiting the JJB ticket office or calling the ticket hotline number 08451 473 227 before next Wednesday 5/8s deadline.