Smashed car windows, arguments, bad attitudes, nerds, wins – inside the world of Salford Red Devils coach Ian Watson
Boss is masterminding a change at the Super League side after experiencing the downsides as a player
IAN WATSON can tell things have changed at Salford – all his car windows are in tact after training for a start.
Now he hopes to change things further, by transforming the Red Devils into genuine Super League contenders.
Coach Watson is Salford through and through. He was born, raised and still lives in the city and played for them in three separate stints during a 20-year career.
Back then, Salford were based at The Willows and he experienced the downsides of being a player, which are helping him drive them towards the top now at the AJ Bell Stadium.
“You don’t have to worry now about going training while wondering if your car would have a smashed window,” revealed Watson. “I had a couple of them.
“Sometimes at training we were allowed to park inside the gates but I remember a couple of times we parked on the car park and when I came back, the car window was smashed.
“Here, it’s a private car park, so we’re all right!”
The car crime is not the only thing to have changed at Salford from then to now. There have been plenty of other alterations, and the path has not always been smooth.
The Willows was swapped for the AJ Bell and Marwan Koukash took ownership, bringing with him a verbal presence but it almost ended in relegation, a fate Watson suffered in his playing days.
Big name players on big salaries came and went, several under acrimonious circumstances, while big name coaches in Brian Noble and Tim Sheens came through the door – and went before the phrase ‘slow and steady wins the race’ took over.
It took another change, though, to make things really take off – the arrival of Ian Blease at chief executive and Koukash taking a back seat.
Watson also revealed more changes behind the scenes – the team mentality and that of his backroom staff, including Martin Gleeson, a man who chaos seemingly followed during his playing career.
The 40-year-old added: “In my time here, the personnel changes have been quite great and the club has evolved but also the team mentality has shifted.
“When I first came, we had some really talented players. We’ve got some now but when I first came, we probably had a bigger array of talented names.
“But the character of them was different, they didn’t really fit together as a unit or as a team. Now I feel we’re a group and a team, whereas that message probably got lost a bit back then.
“And the biggest thing for me was starting with my backroom team, getting a group of people I felt we could trust and who is on the same page.
“If we could get that, then we could have an argument all day long behind the office door but as soon as we go out in front of the team, it’s about being on the same page – regardless of whether we agreed.
“And as a coaching staff, we’re a bit nerdy really in terms of picking things up. We like to be in our computers a bit.
“Gleese has turned into a little nerd. He came in the other day with some facts, things we’d missed really. We then brought it to the players’ attention but he said, ‘I’ve just been on a nerd weekend, looking through certain things.’
“There was a lot of stuff around him during his playing days and he’ll tell you himself that he’s changed. He’s been brilliant and hopefully we’re learning together.
“There are arguments between the coaching staff, though. Now we can tell when someone doesn’t agree with something but they don’t go on that long.
“We don’t end up coming to blows by any stretch of the imagination but we discuss things to balance everything out and we want to come to the right outcome to get the right result.”
Those changes seem to be working as Salford are second in Super League after winning four straight game in the same season for the first time since 1997 and they are the only side to defeat Castleford this year.
And while the game has changed since his playing days, one thing definitely has not, Watson’s persona.
He told SunSport: “I’ve tried deliberately not to change as I was always pretty blunt and honest when I was a player, probably more so than I am now.
“When you’re out there playing, you have that bit more authority in the way you say certain things. Now I’ve got to be aware that all 30 people are different. Players now are different, there’s a lot more safeguarding now whereas the saying when I played was, ‘Strap a pair on and get on with it.’
“You always had to fight for winning money too, which made the game a bit more grubbier as the other team was like that too. Those bonus days are out now, so the sport is more professional and it seems to be quicker.”
While things seem to be on the up at Salford, they could have been very down but for a miraculous escape in the Million Pound Game – a day that is almost not talked about any more.
But the effects of the 19-18 extra-time win at Hull KR are still being felt and Watson revealed how big they are.
He said: “Because we came out of it on the right side, it created a unity among the players.
“I was here when we were relegated but I had another year where we weren’t and it gives you a different outlook, a fight to never let that happen again.
“Relegation kicks you in the teeth and it opens your eyes. I can call on that experience and other players who have been through everything.”
