Friday Interview - Steve McNamara: Bulls coach knows where loyalty lies on return home

It should come as no surprise; sport dictates in the city and the talk simply accelerates when a major story breaks.

The struggling Premier League club's new manager has already wisely expressed his knowledge of their "ferocious" fan base but he probably does not fully comprehend it yet.

Someone who needs no introduction to Hull's sporting obsession is Steve McNamara.

The Bradford Bulls coach returns to his home town tonight as they tackle Hull FC, the club he supported, played for and eventually captained.

He still lives in nearby Beverley so has been witnessing first-hand the fervour surrounding Hull City's relegation battle.

All the media intensity has come as no surprise.

"Hull is a super place to be involved in sport – with the rivalry between football and rugby and between the rugby clubs themselves while the amateur game, in rugby league and soccer, is thriving, too," he says.

"It is unbelievable the amount of people involved in sport in Hull. It is a huge part of what makes the city a good place.

"The rivalry is intense, the focus is intense and people in Hull are very patriotic about Hull. It manifests itself in the support given to the clubs."

Silencing the vociferous support at the KC Stadium will play a significant part in his side's attempt to come out on top in tonight's Yorkshire derby.

"The backing all three clubs (Hull FC, Hull KR and City) get is overwhelming both home and away," added McNamara.

"The noise they make, the atmosphere they create also creates lots of pressure when things aren't going so well.

"You have to be a strong character to deal with that."

McNamara started watching Hull at the famous Boulevard during the heyday of players such as Steve 'Knocker' Norton and Lee Crooks but now rates the KC as the finest rugby league ground in the country.

"The history and heritage of the Boulevard is ingrained in lots of people," he admits and the club are hoping to return there to set up a new training facility.

"I started going in 1979 with my dad watching Hull as they went through that glory period.

"I got the opportunity to play and captain Hull there on many occasions as well as play for Great Britain – tremendous times and experiences.

"But you've got to say the KC is a super venue. It's perfect for rugby league.

"You can look back with a lot of fondness and memories of the Boulevard but I really think the KC has been and will be of big benefit for Hull FC now and in the future."

McNamara knows the benefit a new, modern stadium would have on his own club with the need for the Odsal Sporting Village to finally get the go-ahead greater than ever.

More immediately, the Bulls are keen to respond following last week's 33-8 defeat at Warrington. They were 8-6 up at the break and in a position to push on for a fourth successive victory.

However, Tony Smith's big-spending Wolves eased away and McNamara said: "I was speaking to Tony afterwards.

"Our team talks at half-time had been very similar.

"We both felt the other side weren't quite at the races and the game was there to be taken by either.

"We continually gifted possession away but defended our try-line heroically and felt if we could control the ball in the second half and build pressure we had a chance.

"But we continued in the same vein, the pressure became too much and the opportunity was lost."

Hull are also in need of a victory after they were overturned 48-24 at early leaders Wigan Warriors, whose only defeat so far came a week earlier at Bradford.

"They have had a reasonable start," said McNamara, Richard Agar's new-look side having delivered four victories and remaining unbeaten at home.

"Hull will be feeling like we were after last week and probably feel they under-performed. They will want to bounce back, which a lot of sides have done this season. It'll be interesting now, though, as we're both in the same position."

McNamara, 38, is approaching the fourth anniversary of his often turbulent reign in charge at Bradford.

He has faced plenty of obstacles in his pursuit of success but his steely determination to bring silverware back to Odsal remains, even if he has one arm tied behind his back due to a playing budget that now no longer compares to so many of their rivals.

Just weeks before he was promoted from assistant to take over from Brian Noble in 2006, McNamara had the opportunity to take on the main job at Hull after they parted company with John Kear.

He opted against it – Peter Sharp was eventually appointed – but has no regrets.

"It's been tough at certain stages through my Bradford career because of certain restrictions but it's the best thing I could ever have done," he claims.

"I've learned to be a coach but also learned to be a manager; I would probably never be able to pay to go on any sort of course to learn some of the things I've learned here and deal with some of the issues I've had.

"I'm as ambitious as hell and desperately want us at Bradford Bulls to succeed.

"At some stage, I'm sure everybody would love to coach their home-town club, the club I played for and captained, but I feel as much a part of Bradford as anywhere.

"I've spent a large part of my life here – playing and coaching – and I'm as passionate now about Bradford as anything."

In last week's Yorkshire Post we mistakenly used a picture of Lee St Hilaire when the article was about Stuart Reardon. We apologise for any confusion or misunderstanding this may have caused.