SAM Burgess is aiming to repay the “bravery and courage” he believes the Warrington Wolves hierarchy showed by appointing him as head coach.

The England legend has arrived in Warrington to take up his new role – his first head coaching job in top-grade rugby league – ahead of pre-season starting in the coming weeks.

In his first meeting with the media since accepting the role, Burgess was keen to avoid making big promises or bold statements.

One promise he did make, however, was his total commitment.

Check out some video highlights of Sam Burgess' first Warrington Wolves press conference here

“It’s a great opportunity for me at a great club,” he said.

“There’s very passionate people involved like Stuart Middleton, Simon Moran and Mike Lomax and I had a good relationship with a lot of people here.

“You can see why the club is in a great position, but it needs a bit of work to be done on the field and that will be my focus.

“I’ve known Simon for a number of years and I was in Warrington about 18 months ago doing some talks. I sensed then that there was disappointment through the town and Warrington deserves better.

“I had that self-belief and I know what the club is capable of. It’s a big challenge but it’s a great challenge.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do as a playing group, but that’s why it’s exciting.

“It shows bravery and courage from the people in charge.

“What’s been happening in the past hasn’t worked, so sometimes you have to step outside the box and try something different. I guess that’s me.

“The one thing I won’t do is let the guys who have employed me down. I’m committed to them and to the team moving forward.”

Burgess’ work now begins in earnest, with players starting to return for pre-season from next week.

And when they rejoin the group, he insists every squad member has “a clean slate” with him and an opportunity to impress as he looks to nail down a style of play.

While that will be worked out in time, Burgess says the team’s performances under Gary Chambers following predecessor Daryl Powell’s departure gave him something to work with.

“I’ve got a bit of an idea but I think that is going to evolve,” he said.

“My idea might not fit with what this team wants to play like, so we have to find a middle ground. We’ll see more of that in a few months time.

“It’s a clean slate for everyone. Regardless of who I’ve recruited and who I haven’t, what you saw from Warrington towards the back end of the year was a team with spirit and I can certainly work with that.

“Recruitment will be something we focus on moving forward, but what we have here is a clean page and there’s 17 spots up for grabs every week.”

On what people can expect from him as a head coach, he added: “For me, it’s about being authentic.

“I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’m Wayne Bennett – I’m my own style of coach.

“I’ll learn and listen but I’ll also follow my instincts with how I want to coach.

“I’ve had a small amount of experience which might stand in my favour – I’m not trapped in any old ways of doing things.

“I’ve got a fresh mind, a fresh approach and probably a fresh relationship with the players.

“There’s things we can do as a team that need to be better.

“There doesn’t need to be huge, drastic changes – we saw plenty of spirit and fight at the back end of the season, but there’s technical things we need to clean up. I’m not coming here to blow the place up.

“I’m coming to hopefully be a great sounding board and a leading voice in making this place better.”