Gillespie outlines desire to succeed

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Jason Gillespie returned to Headingley Carnegie today pledging to leave “no stone unturned” in his bid to bring success to Yorkshire.

The 36-year-old former Australia paceman, who played for the White Rose as an overseas player in 2006 and 2007, was introduced to the media this afternoon, having been appointed as the club’s new first-team coach last month as part of a restructuring process.

Gillespie’s chief goal will be to guide Yorkshire back to Division One of the LV= County Championship following their surprise relegation from the top flight this year.

However, he insists plenty of work must be put in if his new charges are to achieve their ambitions.

Jason Gillespie poses for photos at Headingley Carnegie this afternoon. "I see this as an ideal opportunity," the former Australia paceman said of his appointment as Yorkshire's first-team coach

“Ultimately you would love to be promoted but there are a lot of things you need to do in order to get to that point,” he said.

“Let’s just get those things in place, let’s build. If you get that right, results will take care of themselves.

“We’re going to leave no stone unturned. We’re going to talk, we’re going to communicate and we’re going to make sure we are all clear on what we want to achieve.

“We’ll have a plan; we’ll set our goals and have stepping stones on the way up with the ultimate aim of getting to the top.”

Gillespie admits he has been keen to work in England ever since he moved into coaching, and is particularly excited by the task that awaits him in Leeds.

“One of my goals was to coach at county level when I started, but I needed to go and get some experience and I’ve done that,” he added.

“This has been my second season with the (MidWest) Rhinos in Zimbabwe, I’ve been a bowling coach with one of the IPL franchises and Australia A bowling coach, so I’ve started to put together a few things and get some coaching under my belt.

Gillespie wants more of Yorkshire's players to follow in the footsteps of Tim Bresnan. "I want to see these guys be successful," he explained

“I see this as an ideal opportunity. The players are here. They are good enough and that drew me to the role.

“I was fortunate to play with a number of these guys and I’ve got a healthy respect for them as individuals and cricketers, as they do towards me. I’ll also be meeting the younger guys I’ve not spent much time with.

“We’re all here to get better, as coaches and players, and we want to see the team get better. We’ve all just got to work together.”

Gillespie also brushed off the suggestion that, as a proud Australian, he will have mixed feelings about helping to develop young English talent at Yorkshire.

“Once you move into coaching you have to focus on the team you’re with. That’s just the way it is,” he explained.

“I made the decision to be a career coach. My focus is going to be on making them as good as they can be, getting them playing well and playing for England.

“I’ve done my job (if they do well). I want to see these guys be successful. I played with Tim Bresnan for a couple of seasons and I was shattered that we lost the Ashes as an Australian, but I couldn’t help but feel proud of Tim.

“I played with him, saw how hard he worked and I have to admire that and respect that.”

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