Executive Chairman David Buttress has spoken about his excitement over the appointment of Dean Rugby as Director of Dragon Rugby – and insists a ground-breaking new working relationship will bring long-term success to Rodney Parade.
Ryan was unveiled by Dragons earlier this week with the 52-year-old fully responsible for all rugby matters – both on and off the pitch - and contributing to the wider strategic direction of the Dragons long-term.
In a brand-new position, Ryan also becomes a Board member and Buttress believes the region needs to do things differently to achieve the success everyone craves.
“We want to do things a little differently and build something that is highly successful in the long-term. To do that we need to make changes to what has gone on before,” he said.
“Doing things over and over again and expecting a different outcome is some kind of insanity. We have to do things differently now to move forward.
“The fact that Dean comes onto the Board tells you something about the commitment here and the long-term partnership.
“My experience of building things in the commercial world is that is takes seven or eight years to get anywhere,” he added.
“We live in a sporting world which is obviously different, but the way I think about the Dragons, and why Dean and I have embarked on this partnership, is because we both saw the same thing.
“To build something successful and sustainable takes a long time. Is there risk involved? Yes, of course there is, if there was a guaranteed outcome then anyone would be doing it.
“The spirit of that partnership is that you both understand at the start what it is going to take. We know this is going to take some time and commitment on both sides.
“We also both have to deliver. I know for this to work on the field I have got to do a good job off the field. There is no good holding Dean to account if I don’t hold myself to account.”
Ryan arrives at Rodney Parade with a wealth of coaching experience and Buttress is adamant the new Director of Dragons Rugby will bring the best out of a talented squad.
“If I look at the quality of performances and individuals in sporadic moments through the season, what is very clear is that we have a lot of potential,” he said.
“Has the potential been maximised over the previous seasons and years? No, but that has been a long-term systemic problem, not a recent one.
“When you look at Judgement Day, that looked like real potential to me. We need to get consistent, better standards and be better and what we do week in and week out.
“This is a big sporting region,” added Buttress. “Look at the passion it has for rugby and football. If we can’t harness that then we are not doing a good enough job and that definitely sits at my door.
“There is a passion for sport and if we do a good job then people will come. But we have got to a good job first.”
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Doing things over and over again and expecting a different outcome is some kind of insanity. We have to do things differently now to move forward...
