Smith Looks Ahead After Joining Black & Whites

Smith Looks Ahead After Joining Black & Whites

Tony Smith has looked ahead to the coming weeks and months having been appointed as Hull FC’s new head coach, expressing his excitement to work with a squad that possesses “a lot of talent, and a lot of potential.”

Club News

Tony Smith has looked ahead to the coming weeks and months having been appointed as Hull FC’s new head coach, expressing his excitement to work with a squad that possesses “a lot of talent, and a lot of potential.”

Earlier this morning, it was announced that the former Huddersfield, Leeds, Warrington, and Hull KR head coach would take over the reigns at the Black & Whites with immediate effect.

One of the most experienced coaches in the game, with over 500 matches under his belt as well as multiple honours including Grand Final and Challenge Cup honours, Smith begins his time at the club ahead of FC’s pre-season campaign getting underway later in the Autumn.

To read the full story about Smith’s appointment – click here

In his first interview since joining the club, Smith gave an insight into what supporters can expect from his coaching regime.

“Whenever I take over a club, I’m very respectful of what’s gone before me. Only time will tell about the differences I can bring, but all coaches have different aspects and style. 

“Super League is incredibly competitive, and success in sport isn’t always an easy thing to achieve – what it needs is everybody in the organisation on the same page, with plenty of positivity around the place. When that happens, you can achieve great things.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the staff, the players, the backroom staff, and everyone around the club, and having a look at the resources at my disposal. Every successful organisation has the drive and desire to work hard for each other, and the want to build something – wherever I’ve been in the past, I always like to play a role across the club.

He continued: “This is a club with one of the great histories in Rugby League – you know that when you come up against the club. There is a great passion amongst the fan base, and a huge love for the club across the city. 

“I know people are yearning for success here, but getting back to those glory days take a lot of hard-work and sacrifice along the way. We’re looking to have a group of players here to understand those challenges, while getting people smiling and proud, and watching some attractive Rugby League.

“One would hope that we can develop a team to be proud of, in terms of effort, and even in those weeks where we don’t success, we want everyone to see that we’ve given our best and left everything out on the field. As a coach, that is all you can ask for, and that is one of the key things we’ll be looking to instill over the next few months.

Assessing the players at his disposal within the Black & Whites’ first-team squad, he added: “In terms of the squad, I see a lot of talent, and a lot of potential.

“I’m big on giving everyone a chance to prove themselves, and hopefully I can help each of them individually develop and improve. I enjoy that part of the job, and creating a culture that works hard for one and other and playing for that badge.

Hull’s new head coach also expressed his excitement at the club’s long term focus on nurturing homegrown talent, and the significant investment and ambition in developing a player pathway and facilities for the future.

The club’s Centre of Excellence goes from strength to strength, with the academy squad featuring in the play-off semi-finals later today, whilst the clubs full performance and community pathways will relocate to top-class facilities at the University of Hull this autumn.

Smith says he’s looking forward to helping help the development of some of the club’s younger stars.

“It’s exciting to see so much young talent coming through at the club and being developed – I enjoy working with those younger players coming through and challenging the more senior players in the squad. Sometimes those guys can achieve some pretty good things and that keeps the rest of the squad on their toes.

“I see that as a real strength at the club, and we’re looking to create some heroes of the future here over the next few years.”

Looking ahead, Smith explained that he will be using the coming weeks to meet those behind-the-scenes at the club ahead of the pre-season campaign.

“There’ll be a lot of information gathering over the next few weeks, and assessing where everybody is at. I want to take time to get to know everyone across the club, and that takes a little bit of time.

“It’s good to work out what people’s strengths and weaknesses are, and I’ll get some time between now and pre-season to meet up with as many people as I can.

“It’s going to be a busy time, but it’s time for me to begin to prepare us for the new season, looking at where we need to improve and what we need to attack and focus. 

“I want to get a feel for the culture from within, it’s hard to do that from the outside. So I’ll be in and amongst it all from early next week. 

“I’m looking forward to bringing us all together; players, staff, and our supporters as we strive to be successful.”