Dragons look to spread Magic across Channel
elite, looking at 17-21 profile players with Mauricio [Pochettino].
Before that I worked very closely with Eddie Howe and the director of recruitment at Bournemouth and we had some good success there gaining promotion to the Premier League.
Prior to that, it was Mauricio again [at Southampton]. I also had spells at Millwall as head of youth and did some work for Bayer Leverkusen in a consultancy type role.
Prior to that I was coaching, I started off on a coaching pathway. who could bring a real community feel back to the club.
I think it’s a hard-working club with honest people and good values, and we knew there were some fantastic managers out there but when you condense it all down to what you’re actually looking for, to me they were our clear and obvious favourites. THEY’VE said they want this to be a manager’s role, not a head coach’s role. For me I don’t think it changes anything and the relationship is key whether the title is manager or head coach. IT’S no problem for me either way because it doesn’t affect my role or what I do on a day-to-day basis.
My role is to essentially support them in what they need to become successful. My role is more operational so under my lead will be the academy, sports science, recruitment, medical, kit man – so that side of thing, if you ’re looking at the modern day football manager or head coach, it’s evolved, so for them to have someone to work alongside them with that and alleviate pressures – they’ll obviously have a massive influence in those areas as well.
I think that’s key. What I found at Bournemouth was that the relationship you have with that person you work with – Eddie Howe and the team there – we
Starting fresh for me is perfect because it gives us a chance to build together
had to really build that foundation and that process, so I think you need someone you can get on with and you can understand and you can build together, and I’ll help facilitate all the stuff around that. I THINK now obviously the club is in the position it’s in in the league and hasn’t won in a while, but we’ve got a fresh impetus. It’s a chance to really got hold of a football club now.
I’ve worked in some really what I would call – especially at Tottenham – world-class environments so I’ve got a really clear idea of what that looks like, so now we can sort of help Danny and Nicky drive the standards up to achieve that.
Starting fresh for me is perfect because it gives us a chance to really build together, along with the staff, and drive the club forward. MY first port of call was to appoint a manager and to work closely with them.
Especially on recruitment, I don’t really want to say too much about what we do and don’t need just yet because I’ve watched all the games but you want to give a real assessment to what’s going on and real good feedback from Danny and Nicky on where we are.
We’ve got a very good recruitment team and over the course of the next few months as we get nearer to that January window we’ll all sit down together and then we’ll highlight particular players we might need to bring in in key areas. CATALANS Dragons have no plans to return to the Nou Camp but have asked Super League to take the Magic Weekend to France.
The Dragons drew a Super League record crowd of 31,555 to Barcelona for their game against Wigan in May and, although they do not intend to return to Spain in 2020, they are hoping Super League will help them spread the game in France.
“Catalans Dragons are really keen to see whether we can accommodate the Magic Weekend in France and they’ve got a couple of ideas they’re working on,” chief executive Robert Elstone said.
“They’re not going to be ready for 2020 but I’m really excited about what the Dragons and us jointly can deliver going forward for Magic.
“I think Nou Camp was remarkable and, for one club to take on that risk and responsibility, I think Super League owes them a debt of gratitude.
“But I know it placed a huge burden on the club so I don’t blame them for not being as ambitious in 2020 but they are showing great ambition about taking the game into different parts of France via Magic.”
The 13th Magic Weekend was held for the first time at Anfield in May - where the Giants thrashed Hull FC 55-2 - and, despite only a modest aggregate crowd of 56,869, looks likely to remain there for 2020. An announcement is expected early next month.
In addition to the bumper crowd at the Nou Camp, Elstone presided over a record Easter aggregate attendance of 79,173 and says five clubs – Salford, St Helens, Catalans Dragons, Warrington and Hull KR – have reported their highest increase in attendances over the last five seasons.