MAC: I WILL SET DRAGONS FREE FOR QUALIFIERS
STEVE McNAMARA has walked straight into a relegation battle at Catalans but he’d love all that pressure piled on him – and off his misfiring players.
The former England coach takes charge of his fourth Dragons game at St Helens today, having ended a four-year spell working as an assistant coach Down Under.
A difficult campaign has seen Catalans already condemned to take part in next month’s Qualifiers – in which the bottom four Super League teams take on the top four in the Championship for places in next year’s top flight.
But McNamara isn’t fretting over who his side might meet – he’s only concerned with getting the Dragons’ mindset fixed in their final two league games.
He said: “I understand the format, the concept, and everything that goes with it.
“But where we may be, and who we may face, is in the background – the reality is that this team must focus completely on improving quickly.
“Part of the problem at this club has been the huge amount of pressure on the players – and it’s my job as coach to take that away.
“The players need clear minds. They have no chance of performing if they’re clouded with other thoughts about relegation, contracts, things like that.
“In any walk of life you need a clear mind to perform well, and that’s been one of my big focuses so far.
“We’ll use the St Helens game and the Castleford one before the break to make sure parts of our game improve and are in order.” McNamara says STANDINGS that the scope for improvement at the Dragons – who are among Super League’s biggest spending clubs – was the main attraction for him in making the switch to Perpignan.
He said: “I was really happy across there in the NRL and enjoyed the experiences I had with the Sydney Roosters, and the New Zealand Warriors.
“I was very sad to leave, but the reason was the potential this club has got.
“It’s one of the marquee jobs in rugby league, and a job that people were interested in throughout the world.”
Today McNamara will come up against a familiar face from his time in Australia. This time last year he and Saints boss Justin Holbrook were both assistants at the Roosters.
McNamara added: “You never know which way your path will turn.
“Justin is a good coach with ambition, and the opportunity came for him at St Helens. I’m sure he’ll do a very good job there.
“We know each other fairly well and he’s done a good job of getting them back on track in the second half of the season.
“I know they’re looking to push on and make the top four. We’re in a slightly different situation.
“But we’re not worried about them – we’re looking at our own game.”