Steve Diamond thriving under pressure as he faces job threat head on

Newcastle Red Bulls boss Steve Diamond admits that he isn’t bothered by speculation that his job is already under threat, just weeks after the Austrian-owned energy drinks giant took over the club.

Gregor Townsend was apparently a target for Newcastle’s new owners before committing his future to Scotland until after the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

However, Diamond is known as one of rugby’s great survivors and for facing challenges head-on, making him the ideal choice to rebuild Newcastle.

It was a task he had completed at Sale Sharks and had started with Worcester Warriors, until the rug was pulled from under him. He now states that it’s up to everyone to take on the challenge Red Bull has set.

“We are grateful for what’s happened. The good thing is that it’s put everyone under pressure already to produce and deliver, and to show that you are good enough to be involved with a company like Red Bull,” he said.

“And hopefully, all of us can take that opportunity. We are learning all the time, and every day is a learning day. It’s a pleasure to come to work looking bright-eyed and at white skies as opposed to the gloom of the last couple of years.

“If you are the head coach or whatever role you’ve got, in sport, you have to get results. I’ve never hidden away from that one, but I always think that the pressure is good. I have been an advocate for relegation all my life.

“But that has gone out of the game. I think it brings jeopardy. Coming to work with a cigar in your mouth and feet on the table, thinking you have got a job for life, isn’t good, and I have never operated like that.

“For me, there is speculation around that, of course, there is, and it is always going to be speculation when a company like Red Bull get involved in rugby when it hasn’t happened before. They do say that diamonds are forged by pressure.”