CHRIS Hood reckons Gateshead Thunder’s players will make Steve McCormack’s tough new culture count.
Thunder entertain French giants Toulouse at Gateshead Stadium tomorrow (kick-off 3pm), with new head coach McCormack keen for a first Championship win at the third attempt.
McCormack has rung the changes this week after a month in the hot seat, and after giving his players time to bed down into the new systems, he expects them to transfer the new practices into competition.
Pleased to have been consulted in the change-building process, Hood expects the new systems to bear fast fruit.
“Steve spoke with myself, the other coaches and some of the senior players while drawing up the new systems and that was great.
“I was very pleased to be involved in that process and I think all of us having an input is a positive thing.
“But Steve had the final say of course on what happened, and that’s only right because he’s the boss and we have to do things his way or nothing will work properly.”
Hood added: “We’re really pleased with what we have done, but now is the time to make sure we make all that hard work count.
“I had made little changes here and there while I was getting a complete overview of everything, but now I have been here for a month I felt the time was right to make those bigger shifts.
“We’re leaking too many points and that must stop, but we have a strong side which will become more settled as the weeks go on now.
“The improvements keep on coming under Steve and I think it is time now for us to kick on and start getting a few wins on the board.
“We can talk as much as we like about the changes and what we are going to do and what we want to do, but in the end it is what happens on the pitch on matchday that counts.
“We must defend better and work harder without the ball, that is paramount – we have been scoring a lot of points, so we know we can hurt teams.
“But really, we just have to get our act together when the hard work needs to happen.
“Toulouse are one of the physically biggest sides we will play against, so we know we have to match that power and physicality.
“We’re ready for the arm wrestle – and hopefully we’ll come out on top.”
