Paul Deacon made his first media appearance as Head Coach of Sale Sharks earlier today, salesharks.com have rounded up the key talking points from Deacs’ first presser below:
On Dimes leaving:
“Look, I don’t know the ins and out’s behind it, Steve decided for personal reasons that he wanted to leave and on that I have to say what a fantastic job he has done for this club. He has left a legacy here in my mind, he’s built a great squad that we believe can compete at the highest level and built a magnificent training facility at that we are lucky enough to have here at Carrington. Dimes did so much for the club that people don’t know about and has pretty much given his life to Sale. I wish him all the best for the future.”
On preparations for Toulon this weekend:
“Preparations of the team won’t differ too much, Dimes trusted us as coaches to do that job, Yesterday’s news came as a big shock to everyone, but it hasn’t really sunk in yet. We are just cracking on with the job at hand as we have a big game this weekend, so we’ve got to prepare the boys as best we can and crack on for now.”
Will Steve’s departure effect the squad?
“I can’t say for certain whether it will or it won’t, its new to all of us and we have just got to crack on. We aren’t changing much, were doing what we always have done, so we will see what happens this weekend. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I think our leadership group take a lot of responsibility as it is so we are just preparing to do our job at the end of the week as normal.”
On the proposition of being Head Coach:
“I feel I’m prepared for the role, I think I’ve gained a lot of experience and a lot of credit has to go to Dimes for that. I was lucky enough that he decided to take a punt on me as a Rugby League man. He gave me a lot of responsibility handling the attack and gave me a free reign really, he trusted me a lot and I think I’ve developed over the past five years massively. It’s something I have always aspired too, I was obviously a bit unprepared for it to happen this way, but I’ll take my chance and give it my best shot.”
