England job not on Powell’s radar

Castleford boss Daryl Powell says he’s give no thought to coaching England himself but if a change was made in the top job then Leeds mentor Brian McDermott would be the perfect choice.

Under Steve McNamara England defeated New Zealand 2-1 in an international at the end of last year. That victory ended a seven-year drought for a trophy.

McNamara’s position is currently under review ahead of the Four Nations, which well be held on British soil in 2016. A decision on McNamara\\\’s future with England is expected in the next two month.

Powell and McDermott are two names that have been potentially thrown up as future England coaches.

But the Tigers coach, who made 27 appearances for Great Britain as a player in the late 80s and early 90s, said coaching his country is not on his radar right now.

Powell believes McNamara, who has been in charge since, has done a good job with England.

“I’ve not thought about it to be honest,” he said.

“I worked with Steve in 2011, which was good.

“I like Steve, he’s a good coach and he’s done a great job, [particularly] I think in terms of really getting an identity for England.

“That’s a great win for them last year. I’ve not even thought about it. I’m really focused on what I’m doing here at Cas.

“I’d say that the man for the job would be Brian Mac. You look what he did last year, if they were going to go in a different direction.”

McDermott led Leeds to a treble in 2015 while Powell has earned respect in the way he has improved Castleford in the past two years.

The Tigers reached the Challenge Cup final 18 months ago and have made the semi-finals in back to back seasons.

The 50-year old said he is purely focused on Castleford.

“When you’re coaching you want the boys to be as good as they can be, you want the culture to be special and you want them to enjoy being a part of it,” Powell said.

“And I think we’ve got that right. You look at the players and they enjoy being part of what we’re doing.

“That’s good, you don’t get into coaching as a popular contest but, as a result of doing the right things, you hope you get the respect of your players.

“We’ve got a good group of jobs here who are doing a great job at the moment so, I’m happy to be focused on that.”

Powell signed a five-year contract extension with Castleford in 2015.

The former Sheffield and Leeds stand-off said his job at the Jungle is far from completed.

“I supported Castleford as a kid,” Powell said.

“This was a special appointment for me, it meant a lot to me.

“And I’m pleased to where we’ve got to for now.

“For me, it’s the next step. I still feel like we’ve got a lot of work to do here.”