DEWSBURY RAMS coach Paul March says he’s ready to rebuild the already-relegated team in a bid to lead his hometown club back to the Championship at the first attempt.
The Yorkshire side managed that feat after going down in 2022, winning 15 and drawing one of 18 League One games to earn the title and so automatic promotion (Doncaster went up through the play-offs).
But coach Liam Finn then left for Halifax while his successor Dale Ferguson, the former Scotland forward who had appeared in ten of those matches last year, was struck down by illness which kept him away from the club until late December.
March, the former Wakefield and Huddersfield halfback and York, Hunslet and Keighley player-coach, joined Dewsbury as assistant to Ferguson shortly before the start of the current league campaign.
He took the reins in May after Ferguson stepped down to focus on playing, but was unable to conjure a change in fortunes, with demotion confirmed with five games remaining.
The 18-10 home defeat by crisis club Whitehaven, who fulfilled the fixture following a player revolt amid financial difficulties, was a 20th in 21 league outings this year.
March accepted a phase of not knowing the match would definitely go ahead affected his players during the build-up.
“I’ve praised them for their effort for a long time, but the uncertainty over the game had a knock-on effect on the way they trained,” he said.
“They took their feet of the pedal, and although we talked about being switched on, that seemed to be carried into the match itself.
“If I’d got the game plan wrong, I’d hold my hand up, but the players have to take some responsibility for their actions.”
March, who is contracted for next season and is stepping down from his other coaching role at National Conference League club Shaw Cross Sharks, added: “I’m a Dewsbury lad and I want the best for the club. I’ll rebuild this team from the bottom up, and hopefully we can bounce back.”
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