St Helens’ new head coach plan with timeline outlined for Paul Rowley replacement

Eamon O’Carroll has confirmed he has been informed that he will remain in charge of St Helens for the remainder of the season.

O’Carroll was placed in interim charge following the departure of Paul Rowley, with his first game in charge being a 36-18 defeat to Wigan Warriors.

He was informed of the decision on Thursday and will now stay in the position until the end of the campaign, at which point he will leave the club after signing a deal with Welsh rugby union outfit, Scarlets.

“They said until the end of the year, so that’s what I’m planning for,” O’Carroll told Love Rugby League.

“Ultimately, I want the best for the club, so if things change and the right man is available now and he comes in, I’ll certainly step back into my assistant role or I’ll do whatever the club needs, essentially.

“I owe that to them. They’ve given me a wonderful opportunity to come here. I’ve got some great, great friends here. I care about the club, I care about the people here, so my job is to service the club and I’ll do whatever’s needed.”

St Helens’ plan under O’Carroll

O’Carroll admitted he intended to make some tweaks day-to-day after being put in the hotseat, but would be largely continuing the work that has been put in since the start of the season.

“I think we have to trust in what we’re doing.

“There’s a lot to like about tonight’s performance, isn’t there? I think consistency in executing is the key for us and we’ll get that if we can select a similar team each week.

“In our practice, the things I’ll look to maybe change, and it’s not because I feel like it’s wrong, it’s just to probably stimulate the group a little bit and get them excited a little bit with what’s going on. It’s more stuff around the environment and how we train, how we practise.

“The lads know that I’m intense when I need to be. They know I care about them but I think the standard of training for me now is at a good level and it was before, but I want to see it go through the roof and I’ll lead on that. The lads know that, I’ll lead on that.”

When asked to elaborate on that, O’Carroll said: “Just little things.

“This is very different if I was taking charge at the start of a pre-season because I’d obviously implement some things there that I’d really like to do as all coaches would do, but again, it’s not about me. I’ve got to find the little changes that we can make that’s going to have the biggest impact. We won’t be able to do everything.

“I’m not saying that there’s a great deal to do but we will look to do things and I’ll be looking to get the players’ input on that as well. I want to get this group excited about this next seven games and what’s after that. I think that’s the key.

“I want to get them excited but we have to hang our hat on the effort areas there but I thought it was out there in abundance.”