Newly appointed England head coach Brian McDermott has claimed that England ‘can absolutely win’ the upcoming World Cup, with his first steps outlined.
Brian McDermott beat out a number of impressive candidates to land the role of England head coach, a role vacated by Shaun Wane in January. McDermott made it immediately clear that things would be changing under his tenure, outlining the need for a game plan that challenges the top nations as opposed to copying them.
He also explained that since making the move to coach in the NRL, his appreciation for British players playing in Super League has ‘gone through the roof’ given the huge difference in what is afforded to NRL players comparatively.
McDermott, an assistant at Gold Coast Titans, said: “I don’t want to talk up the NRL too much, but now I’m over here, my admiration and my respect respect for British players has gone through the roof since I’ve been here because I can see what advantages the NRL players have got.
“The fact that our international team gets close in games is just astonishing. It makes me immensely proud. With a little bit of smarts and with a little bit of concentration when the game gets tired, and with a game plan, a specific game plan, I’m more than confident we can get the job done.”
England can bridge the gap to Australia, claims McDermott
England have never won a World Cup with Great Britain’s 1972 win the last time a team from the Northern Hemisphere won, and when asked about his side’s chances at this upcoming tournament, Brian McDermott was unequivocal in his belief.
“Yes. Yes, I do,” he answered when asked if England can win the World Cup, adding: “The job comes with its challenges and you’ve got to have a plan which is accurate to the UK and accurate to British-based players and it’s accurate to a team that largely comes from a competition which is very different to the NRL.
“You have to have a plan which is specific, not just a general plan and certainly can’t copy what the other nations are doing. That’s as much as I’ll say about what I intend to do but it won’t look the same and it can’t look the same if we intend to go deep into the tournament.”
Asked about the gap to Australia, McDermott asserted: “For sure it’s bridgeable, but you’ve got to have a plan which is specific to the UK players. You’ve got to have a plan based on the competition that they’re playing.”
That plan would involve not playing Australia at their own game, as McDermott highlighted by recalling boxer Tyson Fury’s famous win over Wladimir Klitschko, in which Fury knew he was outgunned by the Ukrainian’s right hand.
McDermott insisted: “(The gap) is bridgeable, and the competition is winnable. I truly believe that but not if you’re going to stand in front of Wladimir Klitschko and lie to yourself and say that our right hand is as strong as his right hand.
“If anybody’s listening to this thinking I’m saying we can’t win, you’re not listening. We can win. We absolutely can win, but we have to do some things differently.”
Wigan Warriors’ worries, Hull FC drama and NRL takeover talk – Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show.
Brian McDermott outlines first step as timeline for coaching appointments revealed
How different those things will look is to be seen but McDermott confirmed that his first task is assembling a coaching staff, something he believes will be done in the next two weeks or so before then beginning to engage his players.
He revealed: “My first task is knocking together some staff and getting the staff finalised. That will take a couple of weeks at least.
“Looking at squads. I’ve started doing both of those already. At some stage we’ll announce a big squad and at some stage we’ll announce a touring squad.
“Then there’s a process of contacting the players through the year and having contact time with them. I have to have a lot of contact time with the players through the year.”
One thing is for sure and that’s that McDermott will not be wasting any time, as he stated: “There’s a few things there that I’ll get into over the next coming weeks but I don’t want to drag my heels in any of this because quick as a flash we’ll be starting counting down to getting on the aeroplane to go to Perth. I’ll certainly rip into this work over the next two weeks or so.”
