IAN WATSON still has ambitions to be a head coach after joining Hull KR as an assistant ahead of the 2026 Super League season.
Watson, who last coached in the top flight with Huddersfield Giants, had been in the USA with rugby league side Seattle Seawolves before becoming assistant at Hull KR in place of Danny Ward.
Having been given the axe by the Giants in July 2024, there was some conjecture about whether Watson would come back to Super League.
But, he is keen to become a number one in the near future as he reflects on his time at Craven Park so far.
“I think the one thing they’re really good at at Hull KR is having like a bit of a succession plan,” Watson told Sky Sports’ The Bench podcast.
“I think there has been somebody in mind who they have got. Whether that works out or not, they will be able to tell you that. I won’t be able to tell you that.
“I have had a chat with the club and just said, if it was a case of having some consistency in the way that they train, the way that they prepare, because it’s very, very similar.
“If they want that kind of consistency, then I would be willing to look at that and step forward if that was needed to and they thought I was the right person to do it.
“My ambition is to get back into head coaching at some point. Whether it is here, we don’t know.
“Nobody ever knows. I think everything is timing.
Watson also reflected on his spell in Seattle and how that has helped him jump into a ‘first class’ environment at Craven Park.
“Coming to Hull KR, it has been great to be fair. It has been a new challenge in many ways,” he added.
“Going to Seattle helped, stepping back a little bit, being an assistant coach where you can see things a little bit different without all the kind of stress of everything else that goes in and around the head coach’s role.
“So, it has been first class coming here, jumping in with the boys and just trying to build them relationships up with Willie and with the playing staff.
“Moving into the area and getting to know the community has been really good as well.
“You walk into the gym, everyone is rugby up here, everyone is straight into you and talking to you about the place.
“They are really welcoming as well and you have a proper community where they are asking about your family. They don’t even know your family, but they’re asking about your family.”