WHEN Dean Ryan was announced as Richard Hill’s Sixways successor, his reputation as a hard taskmaster certainly preceded him.

During his successful stint as director of rugby at Gloucester, Ryan became renowned as a strict disciplinarian who would not tolerate anything less than 100 per cent from his players.

Under head coach Hill, there was often a jovial atmosphere among the squad during training, but the players are set for a real culture shock when the 46-year-old former England number eight takes up the reins.

Discipline will be at the heart of Ryan’s new regime as he bids to turn Warriors around from perennial strugglers to a credible Aviva Premiership outfit.

He said: “I’m pretty demanding about what I think your obligation is as a player to a club that pays you and looks after you well.

“I’ve never shied away from that and when people sometimes are shocked by that, then they’ve been getting away for a long time on a relationship and contract when they’ve not been fulfilling it.

“This place needs people who are prepared to fight to make the club competitive in the Premiership and I will promote and reward people who are prepared to do that.

“There are lots of things we need to address in terms of the squad, but I’m not overly worried about age at the moment.

“I’m mainly concerned about people’s commitment and understanding how hard they are going to have to work.

“If that’s a 34-year-old or an 18-year-old, that doesn’t worry me.

“How we evolve the squad in the future though is crucial that we move towards a younger element, but in the short-term we need everyone on deck helping us. In the long-term, we’ll move towards some ambitious youngsters.”

While Ryan’s appointment has been widely heralded as a smart piece of business by Worcester, the man himself insists he is not a miracle-worker and there will be no quick-fix to suddenly turn Warriors into top-four contenders.

He added: “We have to stop this illusion that coaches have magic wands, because they haven’t and this will be a hard season with people having to work way beyond where they have done before.

“If we get that right culturally, then we can start to build.

“The strength of this place is the opportunities — always has been — but the downside of that is that everybody talks about that in the here and now.

“The playing squad is one that has struggled, certainly in the tail end of the season. “A lot of changes have been made with people going out and coming in, but there are so many things we have to address in the short-term before we get across to a Premiership season.

“It’s a difficult window to try and influence that squad now — it’s probably a little bit too late, but it won’t stop us from looking.

“There are some elements we need to add to the squad just to ensure we are able to be competitive. I am reviewing everything at the moment. I have a view of what I want in terms of the structure, but I’ll also look at everything that is here now.

“The driving motivation is that over the next 12 to 24 months we are seen as a place of high coaching reputation and I’ve got to ensure that.

“I have to maximise resources, because we don’t have the best squad in the league, so we have to get the best out of what we have got.

“In a three to five-year plan, it doesn’t fit to keep chopping and changing. If those people who are available aren’t the type of people we want, we won’t be doing anything.”