St Helens coach Mick Potter has hailed Harlequins counterpart Brian McDermott's credentials for the England job.
Quins boss in England job hunt
St Helens coach Mick Potter has backed Harlequins counterpart Brian McDermott's credentials for the England job.
The Quins boss has been heavily linked with the national coaching role, which was vacated by Tony Smith last November.
Potter, whose Saints team face Quins at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday, feels McDermott could be just the man for the national team.
"Whether or not he would do a good job is not for me to say, but I think he is a very good person that could move the England team forward, be it as an assistant or a head coach," he said.
While Quins are rooted to the bottom of the engage Super League table with just one win from their nine games, Potter is reading little into the Londoners' form ahead of their clash.
He said: "They started on the back foot by losing some key players in pre-season and that is sometimes hard to make up.
"I think they have been unfortunate because from what I have seen of them they have done some good things in patches.
Slippery slope
"They will be hoping to get players back soon as they won't want to get on a slippery slope."
McDermott, nicknamed Big Mac, is thought to have been one of four men interviewed recently for the national post.
The others included fellow Super League duo Steve McNamara (Bradford) and Richard Agar (Hull FC), as well as former Wigan and Great Britain forward Denis Betts, who is now on the backroom staff of Gloucester.
But Agar has since ruled himself out of the running by signing a new two-year contract with the Airlie Birds.
