John Duffy insists the possibilities are endless at Featherstone after being unveiled as the club’s new head coach.
The 38-year-old has signed an initial one-year deal with the ambitious Championship club and takes charge with immediate effect following the departure of Jon Sharp on Monday.
Duffy, who previously played for Warrington and Leigh during his playing days, has joined the club from financially-troubled Swinton Lions, where he had been head coach for three years.
Ahead of his first game in charge against Toulouse on Saturday, Duffy insisted the appeal of joining the club was too good to turn down.
“I’m over the moon,” he said.
“It’s a massive opportunity to come to a big club and further my development as a coach. I’ll be working with fantastic people and fantastic staff.
“It’s all come around really quickly and fast. These guys (Fev) have been superb and I’m looking forward to getting to know them a little bit better. It’s sad if Swinton don’t get everything sorted but I can’t look at that now.
“If you look at the playing squad, as Mark has said, there’s some fantastic players. I’ve watched a lot of footage on them and they’ve been the best club we’ve played, so just to add the way I like to play into the mix, I think we can do some great stuff, hopefully.”
Duffy’s initial goal is to prepare the club for the Qualifiers. The club’s chairman, Mark Campbell, expressed concerns about the current state of the squad ahead of the league split, bemoaning the fact the players have been allowed to book holidays with a free weekend of fixtures ahead.
However, Duffy is hoping he can work around that and instil his beliefs into the squad immediately.
“We’ve got to get it into them straight away,” he said.
“We’ll come in and work hard from the off; I’ll meet the players and explain the way I like to play the game straight away. We’ll put the hours in, grasp it with both hands and get on with it straight away. It’s a massive opportunity at a massive club and I’m grateful to be given a chance. I’ve got to go prove it now on the field but I’ll be working as hard as I can to make the club grow.”
