Demetriou hopes for long coaching career

Keighley coach Jason Demetriou is hoping that this year will just be the start of a successful coaching career.

The 34-year-old dropped out of Super League at the end of last season to seek a coaching role in the Championships, and he landed the vacancy at Cougar Park following Barry Eaton‘s departure to Crusaders.

Relegated from the Championship in 2010, the Cougars are one of the favourites for the Championship 1 title, and Demetriou is up for the challenge.

The former Widnes, Rochdale and Lancashire Lynx man said: “Everybody wants to win and get promoted. It’s going to be tough – everyone’s thinking because we’ve come down we’ve got the right to go straight back up – that’s not the case, we’ve got to earn that right as much as everybody else. 

“There are processes it’s going to take to earn that right and if we do that, then at the end of the year I’m sure we’ll be up there with a chance.”

Demetriou had initially signed with York City Knights, but he triggered a clause in his contract that enabled his exit to take up a coaching role, without ever playing a game for the club.

He said: “York were good enough to put a clause into my contract that stated if I get a head coaching job then I could leave because they knew that’s what I wanted to get into. They treated me really well, they could have not put that into my contract and made it really tough for me but they didn’t.

“I’ve got two year contract at Keighley and my aim is to do really well here and strengthen my CV as a coach and at that point hopefully I’ll have options to do other things but if not then I’ll stay at Keighley.

“At the end of the day coaching is a ruthless business, you’re judged on your results, I know that more than anybody. The plan is to make a career out of coaching, I’m looking at the next 10 years not just the next two.”