Ryan pleased with his first year as DOR - The Worcester Observer

Ryan pleased with his first year as DOR

Worcester Editorial 20th May, 2014 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0

THERE was a time when the week to week ups and downs of coaching at the highest level did not appeal to Dean Ryan.

Having left Gloucester on a sour note in 2009, the 47-year-old seemed content on life as a Sky Sports pundit.

But after taking over the reins at Worcester Warriors last year, Ryan said he was delighted to be back in the hotseat, even if it took 17 games before he could celebrate a win in the Aviva Premiership.

“Things were pretty tough before Christmas because it was very difficult to work with a group of players which had issues with motivation,” he said.




“But since then it has been fantastic. Yes, you might sit in a changing room with players who have better ability – and I have been fortunate to do that at other times.

“But to just sit with some pretty good people who are working hard is everything and that’s what I wanted to come back to.”


His first season back may have ended with relegation, but Ryan admitted he was pleased by how the last 12 months have gone at Sixways as he remains upbeat about the club’s future.

“We have not ended up in the place where we wanted to be,” he said. “But we were always aware of the scale of the challenge here.

“I didn’t want to come back just to be in survival mode, so for the board and shareholders to look at what needs to change to become a top six side has been the biggest positive for me this season.

“We are a year down and it may feel like we are in a tough space, but so much has been done over that year to put things in place to be able to grow this club.

“In five or ten years’ time I believe people will look at this particular window of time and say the right things were done to see the benefits further down the line.”

Ryan will now round off his first year back in management by coaching the Barbarians at Twickenham later this month, which the former England international said would be another memorable moment in his career.

“I am not worried about being forgotten as I am fully committed to my work at this club,” Ryan added.

“But I am incredibly honoured that they even thought of my name and said ‘would I do it?’ and I am grateful of the club for supporting me to do it.”

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