COCKERILL HAS EYE ON MAKING MYRESIDE ROCK

RICHARD COCKERILL aims to have Edinburgh playing in front of ‘full house’ signs at Myreside but admits it will take time to enjoy the level of support currently being enjoyed by rivals Glasgow Warriors. The capital club could only look on with envy as Glasgow attracted 7,351 to their first home game of the season compared to their 3,324. Although that’s unlikely to be remedied for tonight’s visit of Italian also-rans Benneton Treviso, head coach Cockerill admits that only by achieving consistently successful results will the team be able to boost attendances and create the kind of hostile home environment he enjoyed as player and coach at Leicester Tigers. ‘For any crowd, being partisan at home is important,’ said the Englishman, who has steered his new side to two opening Pro14 wins. ‘It inspires the team, discourages the opposition and influences the officials to a point.’ On matching Glasgow’s home sell-outs, he said: ‘It didn’t happen overnight, did it? It’s probably taken six, seven years for them to get where they are today. ‘We’ve got to start on the process. I’d love the place to sell out and have a really hostile atmosphere for the guys to play in front of but that works both ways. ‘We’ve got to prove we’re worth coming to watch. Hopefully, we can do that against Benetton and then put our best game on the field at Scarlets the week after. That’s our responsibility. ‘We need to keep performing and getting decent results because people want to be associated with a winning team. ‘Hopefully then the crowds will start to get to 4,500, 5,000 and, within reason, start to sell-out.’ Cockerill believes great strides have been taken in trying to improve spectator facilities at Myreside following the club’s switch from Murrayfield. ‘It’s a great stadium, a great pitch and a lot of work’s gone in,’ he added. ‘We’ve made huge strides to make it a better experience. ‘Players are going into the public bar after the game and socialising with supporters, which I think is really important.’ Cockerill has reinstated Ross Ford at hooker for tonight’s clash, but has also left a wealth of talent on the bench including Hamish Watson, WP Nel and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne. Some eyebrows were raised when Edinburgh allowed hooker George Turner to go on loan to Glasgow, but Cockerill has no regrets. ‘Stuart McInally is a very good player, Ford’s record speaks for itself and Neil Cochrane is a very good, competent hooker who will do a very good job,’ he said. ‘George wanted the opportunity that arose at Glasgow, so I agreed to let that happen. Look, George is a good player but there’s only so much room at the table. ‘Ross starts this week and he’s clearly a very good pro, very durable.’