St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus has appeared on Sky Sports ahead of his side’s clash against Hull FC to offer an update on the status of the club in the aftermath of Paul Rowley’s departure.
Saints shocked all of rugby league as they issued a statement less than 36 hours before their derby clash against Wigan to confirm that Paul Rowley had left the club.
Just nine months into his three-year contract, Rowley left the club with a record of 12 wins from 19 Super League games after coaching a total of 23 competitive games.
Whilst the decision was a surprise, the timing was even more bizarre as St Helens headed into the derby in a state of off-field turmoil and McManus has now offered some insight when speaking on Sky Sports.
His programme notes ahead of the game against Hull FC had confirmed that the search for a new head coach had commenced, and adding more information on the timing of Rowley’s exit, he said: “There’s no such thing as a good time, is there?
“Obviously we’re looking for a new coach at this point in time, but I think we got criticised at the end of last season over the timing of announcing a new coach. We’ve done it three or four months beforehand, looking for a new coach to be in place for the close season and to be involved, importantly, in recruitment for next season.
“As I say, there’s no good time, there’s no single factor that dictates it. It’s an amalgam, a combination of things and that’s the time that we chose.”
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St Helens chair issues update on coach search
As for how that coach search is going, McManus admitted that he was ‘blown away’ by how many applicants there had been.
“I’ve been blown away by the number and calibre of approaches that we’ve had.
“Regardless of the season we’ve had, we’re still St Helens, we’re still a leading name in rugby league, we are, we always will be. We’re now narrowing the search down to four or five shortlists and we’ll conduct the requisites interviews.”
He also explained that the task of fixing up problems is, in his view, pretty straightforward.
McManus said: “I’ve been chairman for 26 years. I’m learning lessons every day for 26 years, but the formula is pretty straightforward to me.
“We are going to get a new coach. We’re going to be very detailed, very careful. We will not rush it. We’ll get the right person and we know that the team needs to be improved. So that’s the priority.
“What I’ve learned is to be a successful club at St Helens, you need the best players on the pitch and you need the best coach in the game. I’ve always known that, I’ve not necessarily learned it, but that’s what we’re aiming to do.”
McManus was also able to confirm that St Helens will play in Dublin next year with the Red Vee to play Hull FC a day after Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves face off.
