Ian Watson: Huddersfield Giants coach signs new deal with Super League club
- Published
Ian Watson has been the beaten coach in the Challenge Cup final twice in the past three years
Huddersfield Giants head coach Ian Watson has signed a new four-year deal.
Watson, 45, was originally appointed on a three-year contract when he left Salford Red Devils to join Huddersfield in November 2020.
He still had a season and a half left to run of that deal but has now signed up to stay on until the end of 2026.
"We want to create a legacy, we want to challenge the dominance of the league, everything is set up at the club to do that," Watson told BBC Radio Leeds.
"People say that Wigan and Saints are always at the top end, competing. I don't like that - I want a new team to come in there."
After finishing ninth in Super League last season, Watson has the Giants in the top four in 2022 - and they also made it to the Challenge Cup final.
Former Salford, Workington, Swinton, Widnes, Rochdale Hornets, Oldham, Swinton, Halifaxand Leigh hooker/scrum-half Watson had his first coaching job back at Swinton.
He then took charge at Salford in 2014, guided the Red Devils to the Super League Grand Final in 2019, when they lost 23-6 to St Helens, and the Challenge Cup final in 2020, when they lost 17-16 to Leeds at Wembley.
"I have spoken about how I want to try to build something and I feel this is the right club to be able to do that," Watson added.
"We want to become the new Wigan of old, the new St Helens, that are consistently competing for trophies.
"You just need to get it right with the first team and that will filter through and then you start to get the better level of younger kids coming through.
"Then you can sustain what you are trying to build. At the moment we are still building - we are having a great year so far but next year we should be better and we need to be better."