Newcastle chairman Brian McGuigan believes Nathan Brown is the man to return the club to its halcyon days, predicting the former Dragons coach will quickly transform the Knights into premiership contenders.
The Knights are yet to come to terms with Brown, but released a statement saying the club's football sub-committee had made a recommendation he be "appointed as head coach". Realising news of Brown's imminent appointment had been leaked, McGuigan was upfront about the club's interest when interviewed on local radio on Thursday. It's expected the final details will be worked out in time for an official announcement next week.
In a later interview with Fairfax Media, McGuigan said Brown's experience and work ethic made him a standout candidate. "He seems very committed to us, to the region and to bringing us a premiership, so we're keen to have him on board," McGuigan said. "His experience is very good, his age is very good. He has won a premiership for St Helens. He is keen to come to the Hunter, his family is as well.
"It's that time in his life that he needs to prove to the world he is a very able coach. It's a difficult task for him and us but we're hopeful the chemistry is there. We'll make him feel at home and make our players feel at home. Hopefully over the next few years we will have success."
The team has shown improvement under interim coach Danny Buderus, but it may not be enough to avoid the wooden spoon. Despite their lowly position on the ladder, McGuigan believes Brown can provide a quick turnaround.
"I would have thought next year, God willing, he gets us into the eight," he said. "The following year, hopefully in the four and from that point on puts us in the top slots so we have a chance over the next two, three, four years to be back up there and playing as good as the best. He thinks we have some very able people there and therefore a good team upon which to build. He understands changes will need to occur to make that happen as quickly as possible. We will certainly look upon his recommendations very seriously as a football club in an effort to back him to the hilt to ensure he gets the team he wants so that it can work.
"We discussed with him a vision for the future and that's what we're looking for - putting a group of successful, young men together to the dizzy heights we have in mind."
Brown racked up 142 NRL games as a head coach at St George Illawarra, before shifting to the English Super League to continue his career. The 42-year-old guided St Helens to the premiership last year before he joined Melbourne as a consultant coach in the off-season.
McGuigan had previously outlined his ambition to win a grand final within three years. Asked if Brown was on board with his timeline, McGuigan quipped: "I got an undertaking from him. I told him it was my plan for a premiership in 2017 please. I got a wry grin. He said we would work towards it as soon as possible. We need to set some targets that are tough and make up for some lost ground to show our community we mean business."
