Chris Thorman believes he can turn Huddersfield Giants' fortunes around

Huddersfield's interim head coach Chris Thorman is confident he can turn around the Giants' fortunes.

Thorman was placed in charge of the Betfred Super League strugglers following Rick Stone's sacking and faces a tough start against champions Leeds at the John Smith's Stadium on Friday.

The 37-year-old former stand-off, who captained Huddersfield in the 2006 Challenge Cup final against St Helens, has a wealth of coaching experience and is hoping to keep hold of the job.

"You don't aspire to be an assistant coach, do you," said Thorman, who was head coach of York before joining the Giants' backroom staff in 2013 and served as interim boss when Paul Anderson was sacked in the summer of 2016.

I know this group better than anybody and I think I know what we need to do.

"At this club I've been assistant coach, academy coach and interim head coach and as a player I was fortunate to play under some really good head coaches - Brian Smith, Tony Smith, John Kear, Tony Rea, Jon Sharp.

"So I've served a fair apprenticeship but right now I'm focused on taking it a week at a time."

Huddersfield sit 11th in the Super League table with just two wins from their first seven matches but Thorman thinks he knows how to get more from the underperforming players.

"I know this group better than anybody and I think I know what we need to do," he said.

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"I have different philosophies to Rick, we didn't always agree but, as an assistant, you toe the line a little bit.

"There were some subtleties that I would have changed and I have the opportunity to do that.

"How quickly and effectively you can do that is open for debate. Obviously with the Easter period, there are only so many training sessions you can do so it's a tough one.

"But I want some emotional buy-in first and we need a bit of a shift in attitude to begin with."

Thorman says he went for a farewell drink with the 51-year-old Stone before he made his preparations to return to Australia.

"He was deflated," said Thorman. "It was emotional, it wasn't nice but when you lose your job it never is.

"He's a good, honest bloke and it was tough for everyone at the club to make that decision. I saw that on everyone's faces.

"It's a shame but the decision has been made and it's my priority to get some wins on the board."

Veteran half-back Danny Brough has recovered from a hip problem but Thorman will be without seven senior players for the visit of the Rhinos and he has been forced to include youngsters Sam Hewitt and Louis Senior in his initial squad.

"We've got a few injuries but we're not going to dwell on that," said Thorman. "Those injuries allow for some opportunities for some people that deserve it.

"I'm excited about the squad I've announced. I've spent a lot of time helping the youth of this club as academy coach and I've named a couple of potential debutants in the squad.

"I'm sure they'll bring a bit more energy that we've probably lacked over the last month or so."