Former Saints coach Dickens delighted to join Newcastle Falcons

Dickens has been drafted in by Falcons boss Steve Diamond, and will oversee the club's attack and defence.

The 48-year-old spent more than a decade at Saints, impressing in a number of coaching roles having previously played for the club.

He was attack and backs coach at Leicester Tigers last season and also has experience of being head coach of England Under-20s.

And now Dickens is looking forward to his fresh start with the Falcons.

“I’ve known Steve (Diamond) since around 2001 when I first became a professional rugby player, and since then we’ve had a handful of opportunities to work together," Dickens told the Newcastle Falcons website.

“He’s somebody that I hold in high regard, and when he approached me for the position it was a no-brainer. It’s certainly an exciting time for the club.

“I’ll be taking on the role of a senior coach at the Falcons, overseeing both attack and defence.

“I know there’s a strong group of coaches at the club who are very loyal, such as Micky Ward, Mark Laycock and James Ponton, who are local people to the club, and then there’s Tom Williams, an enthusiastic young coach. So it’ll be great to get settled in and work with them for the new season.

“From my point of view, everything that we’ll work towards will be team-focused and that’s very much what Steve is looking for as well.

“From the coaches to the playing squad, we all want to be working towards and building an even more close-knit environment, aligning everything so that it’s reflected in a full team performance on the pitch.

“I’m very much a team player and I think that’s vital for us if we want to be successful.”

Dickens is looking forward to helping to develop plenty of talented youngsters at Kingston Park.

He said: “It’s well known that Newcastle produces a lot of quality players through their academy, and when Dimes spoke to me about bringing those players through and giving them the chance, it’s certainly something that I’m looking forward to.

“I really enjoyed my role with England Under-20s, it was extremely rewarding and the fact that Dimes wants to encourage younger players by bringing them through the academy and mould them into first-team players, is really pleasing to see.”

Falcons finished bottom of the Gallagher Premiership standings last season, but Dickens believes they can improve significantly during the campaign ahead.

“I think when you look at the results in their entirety, yes, they were disappointing, but a lot of those, certainly at home, were close, hard-fought games; they just came out on the wrong side of the results," he said.

“From what I saw of the Falcons last year they were very competitive, certainly at home, and weren’t far off getting the results they worked so hard for.”

Dickens has been impressed with the backing the Falcons get at Kingston Park.

“I came up last year and watched the Quins game, and the overriding feeling I had when I left to catch the Metro was the number of fans and supporters that the Falcons get from the local people,” he said.

“It’s pleasing to see Newcastle do so well in that area and that it’s not just the players on the pitch, it’s the whole club that the supporters clearly want to get behind.”

As for director of rugby Diamond, he is delighted with the newest addition to his coaching team.

Diamond said: “I’m delighted to welcome Alan to Newcastle Falcons.

“His extensive experience in both playing and coaching in the Premiership will be invaluable as we strive to compete at the highest level.

“Alan embodies the mentality we are instilling throughout the club, from the coaching staff to the players, and more importantly, understands the challenge that lies ahead.

“His commitment to hard work will be crucial in helping us achieve our goal of becoming a highly respected Premiership team.”