England Boss Bennett No Time For 'cheap Talk'

LONDON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2016 ) : England coach Wayne Bennett may have been accused of failing to promote rugby league but the veteran Australian boss said Wednesday he could not care less.

Bennett was criticised for a terse television interview he gave to the BBC following England's lacklustre win over Scotland in their opening Four Nations match last weekend. But Bennett, speaking ahead of Sunday's must-win game against Australia, said his job was to create a successful England team and that way the publicity would take care of itself.

"You go talk to the marketing department and they don't want you to be goofing off and talking it up and your team's getting beat every week, because they won't sell a ticket," Bennett said. "The end result of what we all do is how the team performs on the football field.

I'm a football coach, that's what I am," the 66-year-old added. "My job's to get the best out of those players and my job's to give you the best entertainment I possibly can. "When that's in place, what you say away from the game is really immaterial.

That's been my philosophy all my coaching life. "My players and my teams are my priority and always will be. I'm not interested in cheap talk and thinking I can promote the game with something I say.

"I know the teams that I coach -- if they play well and everybody enjoys the way they play, then we won't have a shortage of fans and people interested in what they're doing." Sunday's match will see Bennett in opposition to an Australia side he has twice coached in the past, as well as being in opposition to Mal Meninga -- the man who beat him to a third stint of the Kangaroos.

Meninga has suggested Bennett has been trying to undermine him but the England boss said: "He hasn't said anything to me about that. I saw him yesterday (Tuesday), spent some time with him yesterday.

"Did I undermine him? It's a matter of perception. I didn't do that, but if that's what he believes then that's his prerogative. "I'm not here to talk about Mal and myself. If you want to talk about the game on the weekend I'm happy to do that," he added.