McNamara Google translate from the local paper...
Steve McNamara wrote:
Dragons Catalans: MC Namara "Have more players"
The coach of the Catalan Dragons, Steve McNamara, takes stock of his first months before evoking 2018.
Steve McNamara, what is your assessment of your three months at the club?
I arrived in full summer of New Zealand, under the heat and in a club that was in a delicate situation. My first goal was to stabilize it and to put the players in confidence. I found that they were on the right track at the end of the regular phase. But, from the beginning of Middle 8's, mentally the team began to be destabilized and stressed out. It influenced our performance at the beginning of this new competition. Then, there was this camp in Font-Romeu that boosted the whole group, it gave energy. In Hull KR, we saw this renewed enthusiasm with our end of the game. Against Widnes, we found our stress and our emotion, and we defeated. At Leigh, we were rewarded for the week of preparation that was made. All that was requested was realized, especially in the second period.
Are you satisfied with where the group arrived in terms of content?
As soon as I arrived, you asked me which area I wanted to improve first. I remember answering: Defense. The truth is that in the last five games we have only conceded nine tries. We are less than two tries on average per game while we were four on average. The key to our progress is there. If you want to win trophies, you have to set that defensive goal as the main goal. I take more pleasure in working the attack. Everybody prefers to see a team that sends the ball to the wing but, if we do not know how to defend, we will not win anything. At the end of the season we found good defensive stability. And then there are all the little things people do not see, the efforts they have made to help the boyfriend and there, too, there has been a lot of progress.
Did you receive all your players individually?
Starting today (yesterday), we make the collective video of Leigh then, after that, we will start the individual interviews. I will receive the players, but the physical preparers, the medical staff and the manager will also receive one by one all the players. They will then be on vacation (tonight).
What positions have you targeted in recruitment?
I did not target specific positions. I want to have more depth in the squad, I want more players. The average is 30 to 35 players used per season. We will try to get close to this total of players this year and be there the following year.
The resumption will take place on November 9
When will the offseason begin?
Recovery will be on 9 November for the first group and 16 for the second. The season has been very long for players who come from the Elite and have never cut, like Thibaut Margalet. The priority is to give them enough time so that they can recover.
And the internationals participating in the World Cup?
I have to see him with them. There will be eight French, but maybe Paul Aiton (Papua New Guinea), Brayden Wiliame (Fiji), Sam Moa (Tonga) and Lewis Tierney (Scotland).
Are you counting on Lewis Tierney (loaned by Wigan) in 2018?
It's been fun here. We would like to add a player like him to our squad, but at the moment it belongs to Wigan.
