The Rugby Club talks to Richard Cockerill ahead of Leicester's crunch live match with Sale this Saturday.
Settled squad has led to change in fortunes for Tigers
They've moved from mid-table obscurity to title contenders over the past couple of months, and now Leicester Tigers acting head coach Richard Cockerill is backing his side to push on for a Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup double.
Well off the pace in February, the Tigers decided to adopt a more positive approach and it has paid dividends. They recorded five straight wins to propel themselves up the Premiership table, and while that run was ended by Newcastle last weekend they still remain in good stead for a top-two finish.
Victory over Sale Sharks - for whom defeat will all but end their playoff hopes - this weekend will strengthen Leicester's position, and Cockerill believes the recent uncertainty at the club has unified the team.
Cockerill told
The Rugby Club: "There's been a lot of adversity in this place over the last couple of years and we've come through it pretty well. We're starting to get some continuity; we've got a settled squad and coaching staff at the moment and it's working very well. Now we want to go on and win both the Premiership and Heineken Cup.
"I spoke to the players at the end of January and said we want to play a bit more. We were sixth in the table and I felt we needed to have a little bit of a rethink. Was it a gamble? Well we in mid-table and struggling to compete. We said lets play with a little bit more structure and shape in attack - to not kick the ball as much as we had been - and look to take teams on."
It's so far so good for the Tigers since adopting this new outlook. They've run in 32 tries - 27 of which have come from their backs - and this has led to calls for Cockerill to be appointed head coach on a full-time basis.
A recent poll showed 87 per cent of fans want the former hooker to remain at the helm, but Cockerill is accepting the plaudits with a pinch of salt.
"That goes with results," said the 38-year-old. "If we're doing and playing well everyone will like me, and if it's the other way around everyone will dislike me; that's just the way sport is. You have it as a player and as a coach. You just have to be thick-skinned and believe in what you're doing.
"I saw a great quote in a newspaper from a football coach. He said: 'if you listen to the people on the terraces too much, shortly after you'll end up standing alongside them'. Everyone has an opinion and wants to comment but I'm the person who has to make the choices. Some are difficult but you have to make your call and believe with your instincts."
