Wanted man Brian Noble was expected to end his illustrious career at Bradford Bulls today, paving the way to finally take up Wigan's head coach position.

Despite emotional scenes at Odsal last night as the champions hammered Huddersfield Giants 52-18, with fans chanting his name and urging him to stay, the success-laden boss has not altered his thinking.

The club's board also held an emergency meeting yesterday tea-time to try and persuade their iconic figure to remain. They attempted to iron out his inherent problems with Gareth Davies, even promising the chief executive would have no authority on future footballing matters if Noble agreed to rebuff Wigan's offer.

Noble holds Davies responsible for the way Wigan's approach became public and consequently dominated the agenda for nearly a week, jeopardising the Bulls' on-field performances and tarnishing his own name.

But it seemed certain Noble would ignore the board's pleas and this morning inform them of his decision to end an association that spans four decades - in favour of a three-year contract with Super League's bottom club.

Just as at Leeds last Thursday, the former Great Britain hooker last night refused to answer questions about the game's worst-kept secret but privately insists he is going.

Tellingly, the revered boss did milk plenty of applause as he made an impromptu appearance on the pitch during the warm-up, waved to all

corners of the ground as if the side had just won a fourth Grand Final and then said his goodbyes to the squad in the dressing room after the nine-try bonanza.

Noble could be unveiled as Wigan's tenth coach in ten years at a press conference tomorrow and then his work will begin to overhaul the fallen giants.

Firstly, though, the coach was full of praise for his side, who really turned on the style towards the end against Huddersfield.

"It was terrific - the quality of our skill was super and, considering both teams had doubled up over the weekend, it was a good contest," he said.

"There seemed to be plenty of

emotion but the performance was just what we wanted.

"There's been no talk of departures, no talk of stayings, and it was all about improving on what we've been doing. In reality, my firm belief is that this team can win both trophies."

That may be a target more for Steve McNamara, who will be automatically named as the Bulls' head coach once Noble announces his decision.

Meanwhile, Noble paid homage to acting skipper Paul Deacon, who eclipsed Keith Mumby's long-standing club goal-kicking record of 779 by reaching 780 last night.

"It's a superb record to break because Keith Mumby was a superb player here," said Noble, a former team-mate of the player who was just 16 when he made his Bulls debut.

"I'm glad we've produced another one. Paul Deacon thoroughly deserves it. He's a marksman par excellence and he's only 27 as well, so he's not only going to break the record, he's going to blow it out of the water."