CHAIRMAN Mark Campbell says Brian McDermott is the man to finally guide Featherstone into Super League and so repeat the feat he achieved with Toronto Wolfpack – at Rovers’ expense.
The 51-year-old former international prop, who coached Leeds to a World Club Challenge, four Super League titles and two Challenge Cups, has been confirmed as James Webster’s successor in the Post Office Road hot seat.
McDermott, who has also been in charge of Harlequins (now London Broncos) and the USA national team, is fresh from a ten-match stint as coaching consultant at Oldham, where he was unable to prevent relegation from the Championship.
Now he is targeting promotion to the top flight for the club who in the summer era, have three times fallen at the final hurdle – against Wakefield in 1998, Toronto in 2019 and, under Webster, Toulouse this year.
“I’ve made it really clear in my tenure that I’m committed to giving everything I possibly can to bring Super League status to this club. It is what this club deserves,” said former Featherstone player Campbell, who has been chairman since 2010.
“I’ve known and worked with Brian previously and I know he is the right fit to take us to the next level.
“We have moved quickly to take this opportunity. It is not every day you get the chance to bring a top-class coach like him to your club and we are extremely excited about working together moving forward.”
McDermott, from nearby Wakefield, said: “There’s a decent project here, and there aren’t many in Rugby League at the moment, not many clubs with the ambition that Rovers have.
“The script that stands before us, doing something that hasn’t been done before with Featherstone, is one of the main reasons I’m here.
“There are things that have happened over the years with Featherstone and the club has grown, it has filled out and packed out, and it is one of the most progressive clubs in the game.”
