Denis Betts has confirmed he does not know if he is part of Wayne Bennett’s plans with England moving forward.
The Widnes head coach has worked as Bennett’s assistant since he was appointed as England’s coach in 2016 but has yet to be informed whether he will be asked to continue working under the 68-year-old.
Bennett has agreed to continue in the role for another two years, but the future of his backroom staff has yet to be agreed.
Betts’ future with the England setup came into question after it emerged Castleford head coach Daryl Powell had been offered a four-year deal by the Rugby Football League to join the coaching staff, only for the 52-year-old to turn it down.
The RFL are likely to enter discussions with Powell at a later date regarding his involvement after he is believed to have turned down a contract which would have seen him join Bennett’s backroom staff before taking the head coaching role after two years.
With Powell seemingly focused on his club commitments, Betts admitted he would be keen to extend his involvement with England moving forward.
“I’ll speak to Wayne in the next week or so,” Betts said.
“He’s the head coach, he’ll make some decisions about the people he wants around him to support him. He hasn’t made those decisions yet, well he probably has but he hasn’t put it out there.
“It would be nice to be part of it, I enjoyed my time working with him as well, but I also know as a head coach he’ll make some decisions that are pretty tough and he knows what direction he wants to go in.”
Betts believes that Bennett’s decision to remain in the role is a boost for the England squad.
“I think if you were around the World Cup and saw the enthusiasm he brought to the group and the momentum that’s been gained over the last few years, it’s undoubtedly the right decision.
“It was always down to Wayne really, if he had the enthusiasm and saw enough in this group to do it again, then he should have been allowed to and that’s what’s come out of it. He’s seen that the game, the RFL and the players have that drive and ambition and he wants to be leading that.”
