Sean Long says he is "loving" his new role as Salford assistant coach and has no plans to come out of retirement.
Salford assistant happy with start to coaching career
Former Great Britain star Sean Long says he is "loving" his new role as Salford assistant coach and has no plans to come out of retirement.
The 35-year-old former St Helens scrum-half has been put in charge of the Reds' attack, working under new coach Phil Veivers.
Long, whose last two seasons at Hull were disrupted by injury, recently made a comeback by playing lower-grade rugby union for Preston Grasshoppers but insists he is not preparing for a Super League return.
Matty Smith and Daniel Holdsworth are set to be Salford's regular half-backs with Carl Sneyd and French teenager Theo Fages providing back-up.
"We've got some good half-backs here so I don't think I'll be needed," Long said.
"We've got Sneydy if one of those goes down and Theo, who's been doing alright. We'd have to have a few injuries before I put the boots back on.
Enjoyment
"You never say never but I'm really enjoying my coaching. If I wasn't, I'd like to think about playing again but I'm not."
Long says he has made a natural transition from player to coach and is enjoying the amount of influence he is having on the team.
He added: "I'm loving it to bits. Being involved in rugby all my life, it comes second nature to me.
"The boys have given me respect which I probably don't deserve because I've only been an assistant coach since October.
"I have a lot of input in the team. I run the attack and Phil does the defence."
Veivers, who was promoted from assistant when Australian Matt Parish quit the post of head coach after just six matches, believes Long is the perfect man to add a spark to his side's attack.
Develop
"That was his role when he was a player. It can only benefit us if we use his knowledge and it also helps him develop as a person and as a coach," Veivers said.
Long also denied that his commitments to Preston will get in the way of his day job with Salford.
He said: "I'm playing on Saturday afternoons so I get my fix there which is good. I train with them Tuesday and Thursday nights which keep me fit.
"We've won seven and lost one of the matches I've played so far. I'll probably go round again. The body feels fine and I've not picked up any injuries.
"It all depends on my role at Salford. Work commitments here come first and, if it starts getting to being too big a load, I'll have to see, but it's not a problem at the moment.
"If we finish late and I can't make training at Preston, I ring them up and they're sweet about it."
