Plymouth Raiders set to opt for American coach

Plymouth Raiders’ new head coach will be an American, Britball can reveal.

The Devon outfit received applications from all around the world, including from within the UK, for the vacancy that arose when Gary Stronach brought his long stint at the club to an end last month.

And Raiders chairman Bob Widdecombe has revealed that a decision could be reached within days to appoint his successor after officials met with a number of candidates.

“We have a short-list of six and we’ve sent someone to the USA to do interviews,” he said. “We’ll see how those went and we’ll look to try and make a decision at the end of next week.”

One route Plymouth won’t be going down is to hire a playcaller who also plays.

“We did discuss the pros and cons of bringing in a player-coach,” Widdecombe added. “Sheffield and Newcastle both have one and it can work but `I want to put together a team. It’s not just about one individual. It’s a team on and off the court with all the community work we do in the south-west.”

Stronach, who is not involved in the hiring process, remains on the hunt for a new job at home or abroad.

“It’s hard for a British coach to get in the door but we’ll see what happens,” he confirmed.

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