MANCHESTER Giants tip off their new British Basketball League season on Sunday with a North West derby against Chester Jets.

And one person keeping a close eye out for the result will be former Giants coach Andre Alleyne.

Alleyne lost his job at the end of last term after the club failed to reach the play-offs and Irishman Mark Ingle was brought in to replace him.

Unknown quantity

Ingle's goal is a top-four finish in the Northern Conference which will ensure a trip to the play-offs. Alleyne, meanwhile, remains on the outside looking in after failing to find himself another coaching role.

''Like most people in the game I don't know a great deal about the team Manchester has assembled this season,'' says Alleyne.

''Apart from John Leahy and Corey McGee, the rest are new names to me. In a lot of respects the new coach is in a similar position to me last season.

''He didn't have a great deal of time to bring a squad together and obviously finance will play a big part in how well they will do.

''The fact they are no longer at the M.E.N. Arena won't really matter because the Velodrome is still one of the best venues on the circuit.

''I do miss the day-to-day involvement of coaching, though I don't have as many sleepless nights and my blood pressure is a lot lower,'' he laughed.

''And one day I'd like to have another crack at it. I set myself some goals and I haven't achieved them yet.

Job prospects

''I had a couple of meetings with London Towers over the summer but nothing came of them. I also spoke to Nick Nurse at Brighton but they haven't got much money to play with either.''

In what would have been a bizarre U-turn, Alleyne might have got his old job back. He was under consideration after the protracted negotiations with Jeff Jones broke down.

''I received a couple of phone calls but I couldn't really go back as they'd got rid of me in the first place,'' he explained.

However, Giants eventually plumped for Dubliner Ingle and Alleyne says: ''I wish him luck and, hopefully, he won't need it.''

Leahy the key

With a couple of exceptions it's an untried and untested team that takes the court against Chester at the Northgate Arena.

Leahy and McGee are the only two members of the squad with previous experience of the BBL Championship.

Leahy's broad shoulders will carry much of the responsibility for the team on court. The former Derby Storm star is also helping Ingle with the coaching duties after being his right-hand man at Irish club Killester last season.

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