New coach Lee Greenwood gripped by potential at Dewsbury Rams

The 38-year-old former England winger will take charge for the first time when Rams visit Batley Bulldogs on Boxing Day.

Greenwood played for Sheffield Eagles, Halifax, London Broncos, Huddersfield Giants, Leigh Centurions and Batley and had a three-season spell coaching Gloucestershire All Golds until they resigned from Betfred League One at the end of 2017.

Appointed in October, he is aware he faces a huge challenge in what will be a strong Betfred Championship next year, but reckons Rams are a club with huge potential.

“There’s a lot to take on,” he conceded. “Some things have surprised me in a good way and others in a not-so-good way.”

Greenwood insisted: “There’s plenty of work to do, but I am not a 70-year-old who needs it to be brilliant in year one.

“I’m still young and the way the club’s set up, if things go well it’s a club you could see yourself at for a long time, in my opinion.

“It’s not just about the here and now, there’s a lot of stuff there and a lot of potential for years to come.

“That will be at the back of my mind, it’s not just about now and winning this game, but we have got to be smart with it.

“It is about planning for the future, but also being as competitive as we can be straight away.”

On a personal note, Greenwood said he is happy to be back in the sport.

“I didn’t coach this year which is the first year I’ve been out of the professional game since I was 17,” he said.

“It was decent for one year to be able to go on holiday in the summer and do normal things like that, but I’ve done that now and I’m bored of that so it’s good to be back into it.

“My previous challenge was totally different, travelling and working with lads who had not been brought up on rugby league, being in a different area and underdogs and trying to do our best in a different way.

“I did enjoy it, but this is a different type of challenge. The Championship is a lot different to League One, it is a lot more inspiring – the places we’re going to go to – but I like to challenge myself and I’ll be fine with that.”