Head-shaving Warriors boss gets a load off his mind

BE it in a Sydney hotel or his Whangaparaoa home, Warriors coach Brian Mcclennan takes a long look at himself in the mirror every game-day morning. Then, with the skill of a man who has done it plenty of times before, he shaves his head.

In the first few weeks of the season, Mcclennan may well have seen a grim face looking back. The Warriors started with some mixed football, arguably reaching their nadir with an embarrassing loss to the Raiders in round six.

Of late, things have been very different. It is undeniable: the Warriors have been playing some good footy over the last month. The Broncos win was full of character, and the victory over the Roosters showed the Warriors can hold on in a fiery final few minutes.

Regardless of Friday’s close loss to the Tigers, the face that has greeted Mcclennan every morning on matchday recently has surely shown hints of a grin curling upwards.

Every solid match brings the Warriors closer to what the coach craves – a complete performance.

‘‘We’re just trying to grow as a team and get better throughout the year,’’ Mcclennan said.

‘‘We’re making some traction here in the last three weeks. A 30-minute part of that first half against Souths, we were very, very good. We’ve had patches throughout the rest of the game when we were hot and cold. Against Melbourne, there were parts of the game when we felt pretty good.

‘‘Same thing happened against Brisbane. We haven’t nailed a complete performance, but we’re trying to grow a bit each week.’’

It’s easy to tell at Warriors trainings at Mt Smart Stadium – the players are responding well to the former Kiwis coach.

His manner on the training pitch is relaxed but focused, hinting a little at a man renowned for his absolute ability to analyse a game on video, and produce a summary of a match better than anyone.

He’s no Craig Bellamy – that manic genius who trains with the Storm preseason, nor is he a Wayne Bennett – cool and calculating with the best poker face in the game.

Honest and up-front, Mcclennan is his own man, with his own truly Kiwi style of coaching. When impressed with the performance of one of his boys, such as Nathan Friend two weeks ago, he’ll show it; announcing news of the hooker’s broken jaw in the game’s following press conference with pride, visibly honoured that his men are prepared to go so far for the cause.

It’s creating that club environment, along with the good results, that Mcclennan strives for.

‘‘At the end of the day, from myself and my fellow coaching staff, all we want is to give the players a good foundation and a good experience for them to be able to play the game and to be able to enjoy playing the game,’’ he said.

‘‘We’re starting to get that a little bit now where the players are coming off the field, they’re able to feel like they’re improving as players and as a team.

‘‘Enjoying singing the team song, and experiencing the joys of sport – and that’s all us as a coaching staff ever want, is to provide that opportunity for our players.’’

When it comes to team selection, tenacity and commitment are just as important as x-factor skill. As coach, he selects a bloke whom the rest of the team want next to them in the trenches.

‘‘At the end of the day, when it comes down to picking the team, my philosophy has always been I make sure I pick the 16 that the other players want,’’ Mcclennan said.

‘‘I pick a player that the other 16 want. When they line up together, they are saying ‘yes, I want this bloke next to me’.

‘‘It’s a tough old game out there, they’re cracking into each other. It’s not tiddlywinks we’re playing, it’s a tough game. It’s an endurance collision sport. You need tough people playing, otherwise you can’t survive.’’

That extends to the coaching box, where, for the Warriors, you’ll find a tough, committed coach on match day. With a fresh shave.