Jon Gruden loving pressure ahead of Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders in London
Seahawks at Raiders live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm on Sunday
Last Updated: 12/10/18 6:47pm
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Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden insists he is enjoying the pressure ahead of their match against the Seattle Seahawks at Wembley on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Gruden returned to coaching this season after a nine-year hiatus, having signed a 10-year, $100-million contract back in January.
A difficult start to his second tenure (he coached Oakland from 1998 to 2001) sees the Raiders take a 1-4 record going into Sunday's game.
However, Gruden is not worried by their start and says they will keep on "digging" when facing the Seahawks (2-3) at the national stadium in London.
"We haven't won a lot of games, but we have had our opportunities," Gruden said. "Hopefully we can continue to do that and see the emergence of some young Oakland Raiders.
1:01 "We have a lot to prove. We're playing eight rookies right now and we might be playing more before the season is over. We need to see some people get healthy and help us.
"Pressure is why I came back to coaching. You just love that feeling, the opportunity to thrive in pressure situations. You either feel pressure or apply pressure. You have to work as hard as you can then go home at night and do it the next day.
"I don't worry about things I can't control. I really don't. I know what we have to do here. I know where we are and how far we have to go. We're just going to keep digging, keep working."
Meanwhile, with the Seahawks' offense spearheaded by quarterback Russell Wilson, Gruden sounded out the 29-year-old for praise ahead of their encounter.
Gruden added: "That all starts with the quarterback. You've got to defend the play that Seattle calls, then you've got to defend the play that Russell Wilson creates.
"He gets out of trouble. He's a magnificent playmaker. They're dangerous on offence, they can run a football."
With Gruden coaching a game in the UK for the first time, the 55-year-old was posed with some hard-hitting questions that often divide the British public.
So, who was Gruden's favourite James Bond? And would he pick The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?
On his favourite Bond, Gruden said: "Roger Moore. Sean Connery was pretty good, but Roger Moore was as cool as cool gets.
"And it's hard to beat Mick Jagger. I've seen them [The Rolling Stones] seven times I think. To beat The Beatles, that's tough, but I'm going with the Stones."
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