Alastair Kellock calls for Warriors fans to back Gregor Townsend

GLASGOW captain Alastair Kellock has backed Gregor Townsend to take the Warriors to new heights after the shock announcement that the Scotland attack coach will take over from Sean Lineen this summer.

Kellock said: “Gregor’s got great relationships with the players and I’d much rather have someone like that coming in than someone I don’t know.

“He’s going to bring different things. He will have new challenges because it’s an entirely different role, but the one-on-one stuff Gregor does and the development he has with individual players I think will be massive in the head coach role as well.

“I’ve worked with guys like Todd Blackadder. He was a young coach who came straight from playing into coaching. Coaches bring different things, the same as players, and Gregor will have different attributes to Sean, but I am definitely convinced that he has enough positive attributes that this could be a really good thing for us going forward.”

Asked what he felt about a plethora of negative comments from supporters on the move, and suggestion by a reporter that some may boycott the club in protest at Lineen’s shift to a new player acquisition role at Murrayfield, he added: “What I’d say to our supporters is ‘back us and support us’. They will have opinions and that’s part of being a fan, but ultimately we will go out there to give our all and that goes not just for the players but everybody involved with Glasgow, and that will not change next season.

“Mark [Dodson, SRU CEO] has said the decision has been made because they’re trying to move us forward. We as players don’t make these decisions, but … the Glasgow Warriors that Sean has created over the last six years, we’ve not changed.

“There are huge motivational factors for us to do well this year and this adds to it. Hearing Sean speak with such passion in the meeting earlier only adds to the desire we have to make this our best ever season. This is a positive thing; absolutely.”