SAM BURGESS sat down for his first press conference as Warrington Wolves head coach on Monday morning, having signed a two-year deal with the Cheshire club.
It is Burgess’ first professional head coaching role – with the England hero coached local bush side Orara Valley Axemen in Australia – and it is a big risk from Warrington.
However, Burgess can’t wait to get started as he emphasises the opportunity was too good to turn down.
“It’s a great opportunity, it’s a great club with passionate people like Stuart Middleton, Simon Moran and Mike Lomax and I had a good relationship with a lot of people here,” Burgess told WireTV.
“You can see why the club is in a great position, but it needs a bit of work to be done on the field and that will be my focus.
“I’ve known Simon for a number of years and I was in Warrington about 18 months ago doing a couple of talks. I sensed then that there was disappointment through the town and Warrington deserves better. That was my reasoning.
“I had that self-belief and I know what the club is capable of. It’s a big challenge but it’s a great challenge.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do as a playing group, but that’s why it’s exciting.”
In terms of further recruitment, Burgess hasn’t ruled anything out.
“It’s a clean slate for everyone – regardless of those I’ve recruited and who I haven’t, what you saw from Warrington towards the back end of the year was a team with spirit and I can certainly work with that.
“Recruitment will be something we focus on moving forward, but we have a clean slate here and there’s 17 spots up for grabs every week.”
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