The COYSDC Interview

COYSDC

A rather belated welcome to Northampton from comeonyousaints Jim, Have you moved down yet?

JM

I currently have a rented apartment, and the family is joining me in August. Fortunately we have got them into School, beginning in September, so it's an exciting time for everyone.

COYSDC

Absolutely, how are you finding Northampton?

JM

Very impressed, very impressed, it's a bit of a change from where I have come from, I spent first twenty years in Yorkshire, and then the last twenty years in Manchester, which is a little bit different! But a real nice change for me, now I've had a chance to get out and get around the place

COYSDC

Well that's great. Tell me, do you know anything about "comeonyousaits.com"?

JM

Well yes, I do know, I've had a few chats with Chris about yourselves, and I've had a look.

COYSDC

Well that's a good start; at least you will know where we are coming from! Straight to the point, "Saints are known as perennial underachievers.  Have you identified what has been missing from Saints so that this statement can be put to rest for the future?

JM

Well I've had a chance to get with the players, and they are positive, enthusiastic and they really are.... they want success. They really want success. I've also found that the management and the board are gagging for success - so we've got that willingness to want to move forward. I think that what I can bring, together with Dorian' experience as well, is winning ways. We want to get to winning ways. We are the winners. Whether that when we have been involved with our previous clubs, whether that when we have been involved with England. That's what we want, we think we can get this group and turn them round, and make them winners of the first division and hopefully from there on - the Premiership.

COYSDC

We have had something like 8 different coaches at Saints in the last 8 years and the supporters are crying out for a period of stability. How long do you intend staying with the club?

JM

Well, I've moved the family down out of very good Schools and a very good lifestyle up in Manchester, and so I am very committed to turning round this club, and getting them to where I believe they should be. You know, when I first came here, I was - well I've played against Northampton on numerous occasions at numerous times, and I've seen this place grow - It's always impressed me. I'm so impressed with the facilities and the infrastructure we've got; my job is to get this club to where I believe it should be.

COYSDC

 Who will you report to on a day-to-day basis?

JM

I'll report to the Chief exec

COYSDC

Are you confident that you'll be allowed to get on with the job without too much interference from above?

JM

Well, with everything that's gone on till now, everything is very positive, and our relationships are good, my relationship with Allan is good. I've met all the board, and attended my first board meeting. They are letting me get on with it, I've got the coaches, I've got the management, I've got the players so it's up to me now.

COYSDC

Jim: Re England, should the call come sooner than later i.e. Ashton's plans go wrong and the RFU decide to build for 2011 straight away after the RWC it might put you in a bit of a spot with Saints, what is your view on that?

JM

I was actually asked it at interview, a very good question, I'm committed to Northampton Saints, and to get it to go where it deserves to be and that's my priority.

COYSDC

He's not here, but a question for Dorian, which I'll let you answer as you work with him on a daily basis - did he have to think twice before converting from the dark side to come to the Gardens, maybe it's not as bad as a Welshman playing for England but surely there must have been second thoughts?

JM

I don't think he did, he still gets a few comments when he goes into his local with his Saints top on, (which he has done) but you know Dorian spent a lot of time at Nottingham, a lot his playing years at Leicester, a real loyal faithful player there and now he's moved on into coaching, he's moved on and away into new areas.

COYSDC

Do you think the younger, developing players; play enough rugby to learn their trade adequately?

JM

Very hard for me to comment on individual clubs, and certainly not on this club yet. I think generally though it's one of the things that was highlighted to the RFU and is taken very seriously and we agreed very strongly with the statement that not enough youngsters were getting game time, so we will be giving plenty of opportunity this year.

COYSDC

So you will be looking to really push that

JM

Two things really

One I'm a great believer in the youth, and young, particularly local lads, coming through. They are the lifeblood of the club really, and they set the standards for the club - they need to be involved, and the more of them you can get in your team - it's only going to be beneficial.

And secondly, in terms of playing, they've got to be given opportunities, and I've got to see them playing competitive games. If they can prove to me that they are better than the people who are so called senior players in the first team squad, then they will be in the first team squad and the seniors will not be.

COYSDC

Will you be out and about to see all the Wanderers matches and games like that?

JM

Without a doubt, I think it's absolutely essential, I will be watching every game I possibly can be

COYSDC

The Saints "style" of play, which has tended to become "pick and drive" in the past six months or so, will that change? Do you see a reversion to the wide running game which was quite successful for us, until it fell apart?

JM

I suppose the style of play will come from me and Dorian West, and our style is to play a game which gives us the best possible opportunity of winning the games. Now it would be stupid for me to stand here and say "we're going to play wide and expansive" and then go down to Cornwall for example in the middle of winter on a wet, boggy, snowy pitch and play a wide expansive game! We will be developing our wide game and our tight play and we will be using a mixture of it, and playing a wide, tight game to win.

COYSDC

Let's hope for a dry day down at the Pirates then!

JM

Well they are early in the season, so fingers crossed!

COYSDC

What are your priorities in terms of adding to the squad? What positions have you identified that you believe require strengthening by additional recruitment?

JM

I think we've got a good squad here now, we may look at one or two positions in the light of any injuries or fitness, but we are generally happy with the squad we have for this year, certainly as we move forward we will need to keep strengthening, it is just the nature of the beast that we need to keep strengthening. So we are giving ourselves a little bit of time, we are back into action in about three weeks now, so we need to see these players in a more competitive environment, and then we will be making decisions about these players,  who will come with us and who we need to bring in.

COYSDC

You mentioned fitness earlier. This year there was a change in regime in the close season whereby the players came to the club for an additional month to up the fitness levels. How has that worked?

JM

I think you'll probably see that, come September, the results of that. Tim Exeter and his team have done an terrific job, again, this wasn't my doing, but a conscious decision was made to come in early, and the lads have really benefitted, indeed some of the personal bests that have been coming out in the last week or two have been really pleasing, and I think it's taking some of the lads quite by surprise, you know, what they can achieve. We've still got a bit of time to go, so we'll keep working on the fitness, and hopefully you'll see the difference

COYSDC

We interviewed Digger a couple of weeks ago, and he was massively tired yet massively enthused with the regime. Is that general around the place?

JM

It's just human nature, if you are training against others, you are bound to push yourself harder, if you are running ,against others as opposed to doing by yourself you are bound to push yourself harder. I think that's what has been proved this pre-season with the squad. Joined up, competing against each other in similar position We've got this great academy coming through, 10 bodies from the senior academy coming through, training full time with us and giving massive competition for the main squad, they are competing against them in these areas and beating in some areas, gym tests and out on the fields, leading to massive improvements in skills, they are providing both a challenge and incentive for the squad                          

COYSDC

Who do you see as the main threat in ND1 and

JM

I think they are all going to be threats, but that can be seen as a massive cop out but we know the teams that are professional; we know the teams that are semi professional. I think probably it would be so easy for me to say there are 3 or four people who are definitely in the teams and then suddenly to go away somewhere and take your eye off the ball next week and have a bad week, mentally just switch off and have a couple of players out and get beaten the team that takes its chance. So our biggest thing this year will be consistency and achievement. A real high level of consistent performance, week in week out. For me that's our major goal this year. That's our kick up the backside - to be not switched on for every single game.

COYSDC

Looking further ahead, what are your initial thoughts on how we cope with returning to the Premiership?

JM

I'm a first things first man, and my priority here is to get the team promoted. So we've got to look very short term and the way of doing that with the players here. However, we do need to look further ahead, once we get into the season, we'll have a look at the players a little bit, and we can look at the game plans a little bit, and start our plans for the Premiership.

COYSDC

What achievement in your coaching career are you so far the most proud of and what do you want to achieve with Saints before you leave? 

JM

Probably for me the first season at Sale, winning the European Shield, and finishing second in the league, I think the previous year we had finished 10^th or 11^th, where we transformed the team More recently the Churchill cup win for England against the Maoris, a tremendous achievement for the team, who played exactly the style of rugby that we wanted.  Seeing some of the younger players at Sale I've coached through Academy through to Premiership to be top International players.

That'll do for the first part - what was the second part again?

COYSDC

What do you want to achieve with Saints before you leave? 

JM

Well I think I've said before, I want to turn Northampton into a Winning Club, back where I believe it should be and for it to be a top European side.

COYSDC

Jim, The best of luck with that ambition, and thank you for sparing the time out of a busy day to talk to us, hopefully we can talk again through the season as the club progresses,

JM

Of course, and it was a pleasure.

David Lowrence

(St Marlowe) 26/7/07 

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