Hadden will be judged by win ratio under new contract



THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

Frank Hadden’s contract will be reviewed regularly. Targets include improving the Six Nations win rate

By DAVID FERGUSON
FRANK Hadden has finally agreed a new contract which formally holds the Scotland head coach accountable for results on the pitch.
Hadden has been re-appointed on a performance-related, rolling deal with built-in reviews, the first scheduled for November next year.

Last month, the Scottish Rugby Union unveiled its strategic plan which set measurable targets for the national team over the next five years. The win rate in the Six Nations has to improve from 20 per cent (2007) to 40 per cent, the Six Nations title has to be won at least once by 2012, and the World Cup quarter-finals must be reached in 2011.

Gordon McKie, the governing body's chief executive, has confirmed Hadden's new contract targets "mirror" the strategic plan objectives, describing the new arrangement as very different to the existing deal.

Both Hadden and McKie insisted they had made their minds up a month ago to continue as before, and there were no tough negotiations or disagreements to blame for the delay in agreeing the new contract.

But, clearly, Hadden will now be assessed in more detail in line with the move to new performance-related targets across the SRU.

McKie commented: "When (Hadden] was confirmed in November 2005, he was put on a proper national coach's contract, but having now got to the next level we want to progress; you can't stand still. We don't wish to get caught up in saying this is a four-year contract that goes to 2011. We need to perform.

"There are stats on what his win ratio is. Is it 46 per cent or is it 40 or 50? It depends on which games you include. But his overall ratio is still nearly as good as Ian McGeechan's, who has the highest win ratio.

"If we lost three games out of five by one point and played really well, and had a run of injuries or bad luck, we'd take into account other factors other than outright winning. There is a small margin between winning and losing at Six Nations level. But we're all based on performance.

"We've recently announced a strategic plan; we have been transparent in that plan with regard to targets and performance-based criteria, and Frank's contract is based on performance which mirror the targets in the strategic plan, which is over five years. As a governing body, we feel that is the right thing to do for our stakeholders and the game as a whole, rather being drawn into long fixed-term contracts that don't carry either performance-based criteria evaluation or appropriate notice periods.

"For the avoidance of any doubt, I would like to say (Hadden] was the only person we wanted to go forward with. There has been some speculation about the reason for the delay, but I can assure you there was no reason.

"After the World Cup, Frank had a short holiday, and it has only been in the last four weeks that we have been able to sit down and negotiate the paperwork. We met on Sunday, and we also met yesterday morning.

"There were one or two last-minute tweaks to the contract we had to make whilst crossing the t's and dotting the i's; and with him being tied up virtually all day with the national team, we couldn't finalise the agreement until late on."

McGeechan and Matt Williams, the previous two coaches, were employed on fixed-term deals with bonuses related to success and this new arrangement for Hadden is perhaps the latest example of McKie's background as an accountant influencing practice at Murrayfield.

McKie first aired his desire to see the national coach assessed more frequently by measurable indicators of performance in an interview with The Scotsman a month ago.

"Four years is an extremely long period to commit to, for a union and a coach," McKie said then. "I would have thought there were shorter periods to measure progress, particularly as national coach. The discussions haven't really begun and won't until Frank is back (from holiday], but my view is that there are some deliverables sooner than 2011."

There is essentially little difference between fixed-term and rolling contracts in sport, as coaches will resign or be sacked when their teams are performing poorly.

But the key distinction is that, with a rolling deal and agreed notice periods, the SRU will not be left open to a major cash pay-out to compensate the remainder of a contract were Hadden to be fired, as happened with Williams in 2005.

McKie and Hadden are very close, and effectively steer the Scottish Rugby Union, but this would appear to leave the coach more exposed to team results than has ever been the case. But McKie was quick to insist he felt in no need of a speedy route to moving Hadden on.

He added:

"We are confident that the platform for future success has been well and truly established under Frank and are therefore delighted that he has agreed to take on the challenge of maintaining that momentum and taking Scotland to the next level.

"Now that we have got Frank secured, the next change in the process will be to quickly engage with relevant members of the backroom team, including George Graham and Alan Tait, and I am hoping to meet them tomorrow or Thursday."

This article was posted on 19-Dec-2007, 08:59 by Hugh Barrow.