Millward on the march

Millward: motivated

Everyone needs a dream or a pathway and it's a great challenge there at the moment and hopefully the final goal will be to return to Super League with Leigh.

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He made his name at Leigh - now Ian Millward told Boots 'n' All he is returning to the club to lead the Centurions into the Super League.

Australian Millward, who is currently assistant coach at Canberra Raiders, has accepted a three-year deal to coach Leigh and will be back in the British game from the start of next year.

Speaking from Canberra, the former St Helens and Wigan coach revealed why the time is right to return.

"There are numerous reasons," said Millward, who won five trophies during his time at Saints. "First of all, my three children live in Leigh and my wife's parents live there. That is something I have missed over the last few years deeply. That was a contributory factor.

"But also (Leigh chairman) Arthur Thomas was the person who took me to St Helens. He was the major share-holder when I first went to St Helens.

"He's a person I respect a hell of a lot and he's hounded me for a period of time and showed me a little bit of a pathway with the kids and the family and made the decision a lot easier."

Advancing

Leigh are currently third-bottom of the Championship table but Millward believes the squad and the set-up of the squad means the Centurions have every chance of avoiding the drop.

"Arthur's mentioned there is a lovely new stadium and they are advancing forward with some activities off the field.

"They feel like they have a squad that can improve over the coming weeks. You make a commitment and you've got to move forward."

Millward bowed out of Super League in 2006 after a poor start to Super League XI with Wigan and insists he has put his time in the NRL to good effect.

"One of the reasons I went back was I felt that I needed a change. I needed a different environment for myself. I wanted to see where I was at in regards to the NRL.

"In my first year back in the NRL I felt it was a little conservative in attack. Over the last 12-18 months that has definitely gone to another gear. The advent of the ruck getting a little bit quicker; the skill levels and some things that are happening in attack are quite exciting.

"Overall, the game in the NRL is in a really good state with regards to defence and attack. That was a big key for me to research some stuff and see what was good from Super League and see what was good from the NRL. I just think attack has gone up another level in NRL."

Growth

Millward does not expect to make sweeping changes on his return to Leigh but admitted that he will need to bring in some new faces if his ambition of playing in the top-flight is to be achieved.

"The club is going to send me some videos over the next few weeks so I can have a little look at the current squad so it gives the current players the opportunity to step up to the mark and gives themselves an opportunity to be at the club next year," he said.

"As soon as you get a job a lot of names are thrown up, especially from agents, but there is a process to go through and I'm looking forward to looking at some of the current players.

"When I first went to Leigh it was a team at the bottom and we relied a lot on some local guys and that won't be any different but obviously there will need to be some recruitment.

"The stadium is fantastic. It's always been an area that produces young players. It's a great growth area. There are a lot of building blocks already in place.

"Everyone needs a dream or a pathway and it's a great challenge there at the moment and hopefully the final goal will be to return to Super League with Leigh."