Deacon in dark over Dimes quitting Sale
THE rugby world was shocked on Tuesday morning when Sale Sharks confirmed the resignation of Steve Diamond but interim head coach, Paul Deacon, claims he knows little more than anyone else on the situation.
Deacon was pressed on whether he had questions for his former colleague and friend on why he left so suddenly but says he currently knows little about the reasoning.
He said: “I’m quite content and happy with what’s happened, I know very little about it and that’s the honest truth. That’s between me and Steve if he wishes to delve into those reasons for what’s happened.”
However, his focus has already turned to the job ahead and the future of Sale as a club.
He told M.E.N. Sport: “My question is where are we going next?
“We’ve got a big Heineken Cup games this weekend and the weekend after and if I’m being truly honest, just looking to the future. Where this club can go and hopefully, I can play a small part in that and we can carry on improving as a club and as a squad.”
Deacon admitted that he’d learnt
I know very little about it and that’s the honest truth
Paul Deacon on Diamond’s departure from the club
a great deal from Diamond and has a lot to thank him for. He said: “I was lucky enough that he decided to take a punt on me, I’ve never worked in the game before, I’m a rugby league man. He showed me the ropes and taught me a lot over the past five years.”
Deacon went on to talk about how despite initially wanting to become a rugby league head coach, he now sees his future in rugby union. “I probably can now see my future in union, I’m a little bit more experienced and a lot of that credit has got to go to Dimes, he gave me a lot of responsibility handling the attack here at Sale.
“So he gave me a free reign in a way, he trusted me a lot and I think I’ve developed over the last five years massively.
“I think it’s something that I’ve always sort of aspired to and I think that I can be a head coach.
“Obviously, I’m a bit unprepared for it happening this way but I’ll take my chance and see how I fare,” he said.
Although Deacon wasn’t planning on changing the style of rugby to something more expansive as he’s been heavily involved with that side of things for a while.
He said: “I’ve been in control of that for the last five years in a way. I understand that the kicking game is a big part of the game in rugby union.
“I want to be a team that spots opportunities when it’s there to play and kick and find space when that’s the right thing to do.
“That’s what we’re trying to build here at Sale, a way of playing that is to take the ball in hand and play in the right areas of the field, and when the opportunity arises build pressure on the opposition.”