“It's a big season for a lot of these guys,” Sean told the Times as he prepared to join this morning's flight to Clermont-Ferrand for the Challenge Issoire tournament. “And the coaching team too. We've been together a while now. We are making progress but we need to do something special. We are up against good teams week-in, week-out but we have put together a really strong squad that believe they can do things.
“There have not been any personnel changes but there has certainly been a change in how we approach things as a coaching group. We have had to take a good hard look at how we coach. We are making progress, but with the players we have now we want to excite them and go out to do something special.”
This week's tournament, following time with the Royal Marines in Arbroath, is a key part of the preparations for the new season. Glasgow play La Rochelle, the French second division club, tomorrow as a warm-up before the rugby gets serious on Thursday when they meet Clermont Auvergne, last season's runners-up in the French championship.
“It's important that rather than bashing lumps out of each other in training, we get used to doing it against real opposition again. You need games. We are not going to be the finished article by any means, but we have some key goals we need to accomplish, how we approach contact, some technical stuff and obviously defence.
Tomorrow's game is also big match for Dan Parks after last season's disappointments when his kicking form deserted him.
“Dan needs a big season, he wants a big season,” Sean said. “He has come back with a fresh attitude. He is spot on, great. I hope he and Ruaridh Jackson [the Scotland A fly half] can push each other and get us back up to where we need to be. It is crucial to get your half-back pairing right.
“Going over to France, a different environment and playing in a tournament will be great for the boys. We have not done a lot of rugby work but there are certain things that you can get right, working hard off the ball, the right attitude in contact, and so on,” Sean said.