Brian McDermott has not yet had a chance to speak to any of his England players, despite being just four months out from the Rugby League World Cup.
McDermott was appointed to the role in April, after being the successful candidate out of five to replace Shaun Wane.
The Gold Coast Titans assistant boss believes he has formulated a unique plan to overcome the likes of Australia and New Zealand, something his predecessors before him could not achieve, especially at the World Cup.
The ex-Leeds Rhinos head coach will have to pick a squad of around 24 players to take with him to this year’s tournament, however he has recently revealed that no conversations have been had with any potential squad member.
McDermott, in an interview with England legend James Graham, has revealed that he thinks it is “too early” to speak with them now, given that there is still over half a season left of the regular campaign.
“With about 16 weeks to go, I’ll make contact with the players,” he confirmed on Graham’s The Bye Round podcast.
“I’ve got a pretty comprehensive preparation plan for them, and that will involve them reflecting on their games and reporting back to us about how they’ve gone.
“It’s nothing intrusive, and it won’t be contradictory to what they’re doing at club level, but there are some things that I’ll be asking them to do to consider for England at the end of the year.
“We have to have some reps, whether in training or in games, about what you’re seeing and how you go about things.
“I’ll be holding several calls through the year with pockets of players, the outside backs, the spine players, the forwards, and trying to get as much understanding as we can before we all land in Australia together in Perth.”
McDermott’s coaching staff has not yet been revealed, with that said to be one of the top priorities on his agenda after originally getting the role.
This year’s squad selection looks to be an open field, with very few names in the side nailed on at this point.
“I think if you and I put a team down on paper of who we think is going to play, we’d maybe have seven, eight or nine players that we’d both agree on. They’re in.
“There’s another few that I’m not sure just yet, we’re in May [at the time of recording], and then the wider squad. Everyone on tour adds to it, and we need that competition. We’ve got to get those right as well.”
The England boss is not afraid to call up younger and perhaps less experienced players to his side, whilst his stance on foreign-born heritage players has already been made abundantly clear.
England boss Brian McDermott reflects on Ashes series and Shaun Wane
McDermott has landed the role following the exit of Shaun Wane, who held the position for just short of six years, however it ended poorly with England only being able to score two tries in three Ashes Test defeats to Australia.
The new boss looked back on that series and Wane as a boss, and said that whilst there were some positives, perhaps Wane’s style of coaching became “overwhelming” for some players.
He said: “I reckon what we did well last year is probably what we always did well, being up for the battle and up for the fight.
“I don’t think passion or being up for the fight is going to be an issue… we’ve got to make sure we do something with a point of difference to be able to compete with a team that is coming out of the NRL, that uses certain tools and systems on an elite level most weeks.
“Even your teams at the bottom end of the ladder are athletes, and they have the understanding to make every game a battle, regardless of scoreline. I don’t think that goes on in Super League.”
Commenting on his predecessor, McDermott added: “Shaun Wane did a fantastic job in terms of motivating his players to play for the shirt, and that’s a big part of the DNA of Shaun – the passion that they showed – but I think sometimes that passion was overwhelming.
“They came out at Wembley, and it was almost like a damp squib of a game. It wasn’t that they weren’t motivated, but sometimes the task just overwhelms you.”
England lost the first Test 26-6, before losing out 14-4 and 30-8 at Everton and Headingley respectively.
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