Every word Richie Myler said on Hull FC recruitment, marquee players, and youth development

Richie Myler isn't just tasked with finding Hull FC a new head coach this summer. His job is also to recruit new players, both for now and next year, with the new director of rugby's big deal so far being the landing of John Asiata on a three-year contract.

That deal was exclusively broken by Hull Live, with the likes of Zak Hardaker and Oliver Holmes expected to follow suit. Myler has also brought in Tom Briscoe and Yusuf Aydin, with experience desired as the club looks to nurture their young, developing players.

Here's everything Myler, who joined the club last month, said in his first press conference on that development, as well as recruitment, and how the two go hand in hand.

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Time at Hull so far

"I’m loving it, to be honest. It’s a completely different role and challenge. It’s the same sort of concept, dealing with players - I’ve done that for the last 18 years playing and getting the best out of the people around me. I feel like that was my strength as a player, to galvanise a group and get them to play better so ultimately I didn’t have to do a whole deal of work. There's a lot of good and talented people within this organisation, so I'm fortunate to be surrounded by that. My role is to bring all that together and make sure that we perform well."

Missing playing

"Not in the slightest. They keep joking with me about putting boots on. I've thrown a few balls around, but there's not one part of me that wants to run that ball in anymore. I've done my time. I know this club has a history of pulling people out of retirement and playing but I can guarantee you that is not me."

Excited at what's ahead

"The opportunity that we've got here at Hull is very exciting. Our on-field performance hasn't been good enough for a period of time, but if we can affect that element of our club, then everything else becomes a little bit easier.

"We're doing a tremendous job with our academy, our commercial team, and everything as a club as a whole; it's the product on the field, but this is a very exciting opportunity to improve ourselves."

Signing players vs getting a coach

"Ideally, we would like to get that coach in place first, and that's why we went for Paul Rowley so that process of recruitment could be done collectively together. I want someone to come in who feels apart of it and that's vital to get that relationship right and not just sign anybody.

"However, the John Asiata signing, any coach can understand that move and they would get that. It's the same with Yusuf Aydin. He will show his worth to the club. He's a young kid who wants to work hard and develop his game. He'll have a big factor in this club going forward. We're in the market for both players and a coach, but ideally yes, we'd like to get the coach done first."

Marquee player spot

"We've got another marquee spot available (after Asiata). If the right person becomes available, then we'll be interested in a conversation. We need more experience in our side. That's quite clear. We're asking a lot of our young players. We've got lots of scope, and we're in conversation with around six to seven players that can come and add to this group."

Read more: Inside Hull FC's John Asiata deal as Richie Myler explains recruitment direction

Recruiting for both now and next year

"We're looking at how we can help the team now and next year. That's why a couple of loan signings have come in. We've not jumped to big decisions. There's not that much on the market, and there aren't that many options to bring people in at this moment in time. It's balancing that act out and not getting too caught up in a deal where it does impact our squad for next year. We are in a salary-cap sport, and you can only spend a certain amount of money no matter what resources you've got."

How long recruitment plans will take to turn Hull around

"It's not going to be a quick fix. We've tried in the past as a club to try and put elements in there to fix it quickly, but it's not worked. We need to build something that is sustainable, and we've got every foundation to do that. We've got the academy system, and we've got the players coming through. We just need more experience in there to get a better product on the field.

"My contract is three years, so it's a three-year plan for now. But as a club, we want to get to a point where we are back where we belong as a competitive side. We want to be back in the mix, not talking about rebuilds, and competing at the top end of Super League, and being in the big games.

"Everybody wants to win. I played my full professional career, wanting to win. We want to win, but it's about sustainability and not being a flash in the pan. We don't want to have one good season, and then it starts to fall away. To build something that lasts, it is going to take a while and a period of time to develop our young players and give them support by having senior quality above them that they can aspire to play with. If we can do that, then the club will compete and perform at a high level."

Developing from within

"The only teams that have won Super League are those that have grown their own players and gotten them to play internationally. We have the infrastructure for that and the development pathway for them to do that, but our top-line product needs to be better so they can flourish and be a part of it. In the short term, that has to be fixed, as ultimately those kids won't come through if the top line product isn't good enough."

Retention

"I said to the playing group on day one that this period between now and the end of the season will define whether they want to be a part of Hull FC. We want people within this organisation and this team who are proud to play for the club and are not just here to then go somewhere else; they're here to do well for the club and help the club achieve what it wants to achieve. The quicker period of time that we can get through that process to define who wants to be here, the better, but unfortunately, not everyone who wants to be here can be here. That is another element of a salary-cap sport. There aren't enough roles for everybody, but as a club, we want to be back where we belong, and that's going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of determination from everyone involved. This next period of time is going to iron all of that out."

Read more: 'Top four club' Richie Myler to make Hull FC head coach call as certain fit desired