Coyle chasing culture change at Hunslet

New Hunslet coach James Coyle is going into his work at the club with a positive attitude, and he has made changing the culture of the club one of his priorities.

Coyle is determined to make sure that the whole club has a great work ethic, both on and off the field.

“I think at any level you’ve got to be consistent in what you do, day in and day out,” he said.

“The big thing we’ve spoken about as a back room staff and with the Chief Executive and the Director of Rugby is the culture of the club.

“We want that positive culture throughout the club from top to bottom and that will filter down to the team, creating a good work ethic.

“That’s going to be our foundation. If we get our work ethic right and our training is good then we will be more consistent in the plays that we make on the field and the decisions we make during games.

“That will ultimately make us a better side.”

Coyle is refusing to set specific goals for his side at this stage, though he does want to see steady improvement as part of his plan.

“I don’t think we’ll set any goals until we get into pre-season,” he said.

“We have to see where we’re up to in terms of the development of our players. Then we can see what we’ve got to work on and how long we think it’s going to take to get the group to a standard that we’re happy with.

“Internally, the board have set the benchmark as to where we want to be. This year is probably more about improvement and creating a good culture and setting a foundation that we can build off.

“Should we develop quicker than the board is anticipating then that’s all well and good and that will be welcomed. We’ll go into every competitive game to win, we’ll prepare like we’re going to win and we’ll train like we’re going to win.

“That’s part of the building process, creating the winning culture and that preparation in getting ready to play, what you do away from the club and what you do when it’s coming up to games.

“We’ll be doing that all year and that’s something that will stand us in good stead going forward.”

In terms of recruitment to his squad, Coyle wants to keep faith with the players at the club as much as possible.

He does, though, believe that quality players will want to play for Hunslet, though he will not be bringing in anyone for the sake of it.

“I think we have to look at retaining the players who have shown they deserve to stay at the club and want to move forward with us,” he said.

“I think the squad as a whole is really, really strong and the location is great for attracting players. Even if the budget is a little tight we’ve got other benefits about being part of Hunslet, it’s an attractive place to come.

“In terms of bringing people in, we’re not going to bring people in for the sake of bringing them in when we’ve already got lads here who can do a job.

“Should we get a bit more funding from the commercial side of the club then we’ll look to strengthen where we need to, but it won’t be to the detriment of the good players that we’ve already got.”