Steve Borthwick

[Mark62]

I see positivity still abounds through this forum

My two penneth is it sounds to be more on the lines of Stuart Lancaster and Leo Cullen rebuilding Leinster post Matt O’Conner (that name again). I recall that Leo Cullen initially struggled but used the opportunity to bring on the youngsters and build a first class coaching team that doesn’t seem to have turned out too bad. Sound familiar?

And the motivation for Steve seems obvious. Making Leicester successful again would make him a prime candidate for England Head Coach.

So sorry to disappoint the positivity hoovers on here but I can’t see what is going on being anything other than extremely exciting.

Handing the forum back to the naysayers.......

Well said that man

[DingDong]

...the positivity hoovers...

My new favourite description!!

[DingDong]

Murphy stated the team selection would be a collaboration between the DoR and Head Coach/coaches with the buck stopping with himself, sounds the right protocol for a team selection to me.

[ourla]

I used the term exactly

Fair do's - I missed that.

[Robespierre]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/54388428


Take a read of this BBC sport article.

I'll go along with what he says and would like to see some progress in the new season. The close season is rather short, but without doubt there'll be some intensive and soul-searching training sessions and some team bonding that will sort out the wheat from the chaff.

[Dangerous4]

i worry that G M is still with us. "The sword of Damocles" comes to mind.

[RagingBull]

Tigers won't be sacking Borthwick or Murphy early.
They kind of made their bed really.

[Tigerbeat]

On BBC Sports page


Steve Borthwick has seen signs of progress from Leicester Tigers since his arrival as head coach, but says there is much more work to do to end a "period of decline" for the club.

Tigers are certain to finish 11th in this season's Premiership table, with only Saracens - docked 105 points for breaking salary cap rules - below them.

They have won two of their eight league games since Borthwick joined in July.

"What we are doing is rebuilding, almost completely," he said.

Borthwick, who left his role in the England coaching setup to link up with Tigers, told BBC Radio Leicester: "Where have Leicester been? At the bottom of the table.

"You don't just end up in that position. That is a period of decline that is longer than two years. For a period of time, several years, there has been a period of decline, and we are trying to arrest that.

"Part of that is building a squad. Part of it is recruitment, and then once you have the players, you have to try to get them to understand each other and build combinations together. What we've tried to do is build and test different combinations.

"This hasn't just come about, Leicester didn't just get there. Am I clear about the journey we're on, the priorities we have? Yes. Does that happen overnight? No. We've got lots of work to do, and I know everyone here is invested in the role."

He added: "This is a great club that has lost its way, and lost its way very, very badly. What we need to ensure is that we get it on the right path, and that is what we are trying to do each day."

[Noggs]

I can't understand why people don't understand that this renewal is going to take some considerable time. We have put a man in place who should be able to do it and whilst I also hate to see us loose I have confidence that things will get better.

[TigerCam]

I can't understand why people don't understand that this renewal is going to take some considerable time. We have put a man in place who should be able to do it and whilst I also hate to see us loose I have confidence that things will get better.

+1 and don't expect miracles next season either. As SB implies it is a club that has badly lost its way.

[TigerFeetSteve]

I would happily take 8th place next season as a sign of improvement. That's significant improvement from where we are at the moment, and the sort of level we are at, top 6 next year is certainly at the very top end of where we should be looking.

[Leicestertinytiger]

I would happily take 8th place next season as a sign of improvement. That's significant improvement from where we are at the moment, and the sort of level we are at, top 6 next year is certainly at the very top end of where we should be looking.

Wow 8th place for me is the top end of where we should be looking at. Don’t forget we’ve been by far the worst team this season in the premiership. Only by luck that we’re not getting relegated.

Think we’ll be battling it out with Newcastle, London Irish and Worcester so 9-10th would be an improvement over this season. Small steps at a time.

[TigerFeetSteve]

I would happily take 8th place next season as a sign of improvement. That's significant improvement from where we are at the moment, and the sort of level we are at, top 6 next year is certainly at the very top end of where we should be looking.

Wow 8th place for me is the top end of where we should be looking at. Don’t forget we’ve been by far the worst team this season in the premiership. Only by luck that we’re not getting relegated.

Think we’ll be battling it out with Newcastle, London Irish and Worcester so 9-10th would be an improvement over this season. Small steps at a time.

I'm an eternal optimist, I too would be happy staying up on merit, but I think that if we have a good start then we could make progress towards the likes of Glaws and Quins too towards the end of the season.

[ads]

I honestly believe we'll make some good strides next season. We've lost too many players at key times for the past few years and I think we're now building a squad that can cover those periods. I'd like to see a bit more of SB in the media/after matches to show people he is running the show and that Murphy is no longer a coach,

I think we'll be better than Newcastle, Irish and Worcester, but can see nobody going down anyway. If we can get a couple of wins against the other mid table teams like Saints, Gloucs and quins we could be looking at solid mid table. A decent european run would make for a pretty succesful season.

Ooh, my glass seems to be filling up again!!

[aslongaswebeatsaints]

I honestly believe we'll make some good strides next season. We've lost too many players at key times for the past few years and I think we're now building a squad that can cover those periods. I'd like to see a bit more of SB in the media/after matches to show people he is running the show and that Murphy is no longer a coach,

I think we'll be better than Newcastle, Irish and Worcester, but can see nobody going down anyway. If we can get a couple of wins against the other mid table teams like Saints, Gloucs and quins we could be looking at solid mid table. A decent european run would make for a pretty succesful season.

Ooh, my glass seems to be filling up again!!

I agree. I also think it would be foolhardy to have anything other than ring fencing. In this financial climate there is no guarantee every team will survive, even with ringfencing. As such, going down for a club without a sugar daddy would probably mean bankruptcy.