SUNDAY’s friendly against Widnes will be Keiron Cunningham’s first match in charge of the Saints – and he can’t wait.

The former Saints hooker, who learned his trade as Nathan Brown’s assistant, slipped into the big chair immediately after the Grand Final once the Australian returned home.

And with former teammate Sean Long joining him as his assistant, Cunningham has enjoyed the pre-season preparations so far.

The new boss said: “I am really excited for the year ahead – I know what it’s like as a player before Christmas –it is a bit of a drudge with all the dark mornings and we all look forward to the Christmas break.

“But after that you get the ball in your hands a bit more and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“The boys are pumped, but I am excited too – and am just looking forward to getting going.

“I enjoy all the rugby stuff and taking the team - it is what I have done all of my life.

“It is stuff like press conferences, salary caps and recruiting that I am not used to doing.

“But I have played since I was seven and know the game inside out.

“I am happy with how it has gone – the boys are training really hard and it is going well.”

Cunningham said that there has been a large degree of continuity - explaining that he had already been in charge of the team’s attack last year when he was assistant coach.

He has assistants he can trust to get on with their roles - with Jamahl Lolesi likely to run the bench while Long acts as Cunningham’s extra pair of eyes alongside him in the stand.

Cunningham said: “Longy and Jamahl are looking after the defence with me overseeing everything.

“Although we have tweaked a few things in defence we don’t want to try and fix something that is not broken.

“We did a great job with what we had last year – and after that we have lost a few players and gained some more.”

Being defending champions brings expectation and pressure, but Cunningham thrives on that.

“I like pressure that is why I want the job and of course I have always wanted to win trophies.

“I have a team that wants to win too – and that helps my cause,” he said.