Shaun Wane wants to leave ‘dream job’ by winning Grand Final
Shaun Wane admitted that it will be an emotional farewell to Wigan on Saturday – but he is 100% focused on beating Warrington in the Grand Final.
The Warriors face the Wolves in the 2018 Super League Grand Final on Saturday and win or lose, it will be Wane’s last game in charge of the club.
Wane has had a 30-year association with Wigan as a player and coach – but he will leave the club after Saturday to join Scottish Rugby Union in a consultancy role.
“When I first got the job, I said that it is my dream job and I still feel the same way,” Wane said.
“I still feel the same way. There’s no other job I would want but I’ve chosen to resign for my own personal reasons and I think I’ve done my bit for the club. I’ve done okay in my job, I’ve improved the team, we’ve won things, we’ve got some good kids coming through and our culture is good. The guys are respectful and without doubt, it is the best job in the world.
“I’ll miss being with the players, I love interacting with them and the coaches. I’ll miss the video meetings, watching lots of games and working out ways to try and win games. I enjoy all that and that will be done come this weekend.
“We have to manage our emotions well on Saturday. We are not going to speak about anything like that, it is all about processing this game. We need to concentrate on our gameplan. I never thought it would come to an end but sadly, it has come to that but to finish at Old Trafford, hopefully as a winner, would do for me.”
Wane will switch codes to rugby union for the first time in his life – his new job being a maximum of two days per-week – but he admitted that he could see himself returning rugby league in the future.
“I’m going to a job at Scotland where it is one or two days a week and I’m leaving a job where I do eight days a week,” he explained.
“It is going to take some getting used to – but I have a business in Wigan so that will take a bit of my time up. Going into a job where I’m not going to be doing that much is something I need to get my head around.
“I have a building company, so I’ll be doing that, and I do motivational speaking for banks and organisations – but this new job just gives me a bit of a chance to do what I want to do and change things around. I’ll keep involved with league, watch a few other sports and do a bit of travelling because I’ve been full on for quite a few years.
“I’m going to keep watching Wigan and keep watching rugby league. I’m a league man and I never say never. I could be back in league sometime.”