Danny Wilson believes he has the backing of new Glasgow Warriors chief Al Kellock

Danny Wilson believes he has the support of new Glasgow Warriors chief Al Kellock as he tries to repair the damage done by Saturday’s 46-25 loss to Benetton in Italy.

Warriors head coach Danny Wilson had a long debrief with his squad following the Benetton defeat. Picture: Ross MacDonald/SNS

Wilson said there had been much soul-searching among his squad in the aftermath of the shock defeat.

Benetton failed to win any of their 16 matches in the Guinness Pro14 this season but put six tries past the Warriors in the Rainbow Cup opener in Treviso.

Kellock, the former Glasgow captain who led them to a Guinness Pro12 triumph in 2015, took over as the club’s managing director earlier this month, replacing Nathan Bombrys.

New Glasgow Warriors MD Al Kellock.

Asked if he’d had assurances about his future, Wilson said: “We’ve had lots of good conversations about the future and future plans, so yeah.”

The coach added: “I've had a good sit down with Al. I know him from Scotland days as well so there has been lots of communication. He travelled with us at the weekend so we have had plenty of opportunities to talk.

“We have spoken a number of times over a long period and I think we share similar views. He is a very passionate Glasgow man and he was the captain here the last time they won a trophy. He wants to see that success built back at Glasgow.

“We are obviously going through a season of ups and downs and changes and we are looking to develop a number of players at the moment who are starting to come through. I think that bodes well for the long-term future.

“There are a few people leaving and a few coming in. We’ve had the same with staff, but long-term we will hopefully get the success we want to be part of.”

Wilson said he had also spoken to Mark Dodson, the SRU chief executive, since the weekend but insisted there was nothing unusual in that.

“I speak to Mark quite regularly,” said the coach. “I’ve spoken to him this week but that’s not out of the ordinary. Win, lose or draw, I probably speak to him every week so that’s not unusual. Everybody understands that that performance was not acceptable.”

Glasgow face Edinburgh in back-to-back derbies next month and Wilson will look for a reaction from his squad. He and the players undertook a lengthy debrief of the Benetton match and the coach was impressed by the honesty shown.

“We’ve spent a lot longer reviewing the footage than we normally would, and we’ve done a lot of soul-searching - we didn’t see that coming.

“I thought the players handled things really well - they took a lot of control of that meeting. Ultimately we’re all responsible - coaches, players, everybody. We’ve all gone out there and we haven’t represented Glasgow, the jersey, the supporters well enough.

“It’s the first time this season I’ve felt like that and I think everybody has felt like that. I know we’ve had some tough games and some tough things that have gone on this season, but the weekend was different.”

The first match against Edinburgh is an 1872 Cup decider at Scotstoun on May 7. Flanker Tom Gordon is expected to return from injury but lock Scott Cumming is touch and go. The game comes too soon for Adam Hastings and Matt Fagerson.

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