WAYNE SHELFORD, poised to sign a three-year deal as Saracens' new director of rugby, outlined his blueprint for an expected revolution at Vicarage Road next season to the club's hierarchy and playing staff, before returning to his native New Zealand to finalise travel arrangements.

The former North Harbour coach, expected to return in early June to take up the new post, discussed his proposals regarding the current playing staff and training regimes with Peter Deakin, Saracens' chief executive, and managing director Tim Lawler on Monday, May 13th despite not having put pen to paper on a contract.

"It hasn't been finalised and that will be announced in the next few weeks but the intention is to come here, but that just comes down to the black and white," said Shelford.

"If all the black and white is sorted out and I come back, there is going to be a lot of hard work put in over the next couple of months," warned the 44-year-old.

The granting of a work permit looked to be one of the major obstacles in the deal, but that appears to have been granted quicker than anticipated with Shelford's wife's British grandparents proving a decisive factor in his application.

"It doesn't appear to be a stumbling block now," commented Lawler. "He is just the kind of guy who wants all the formalities sorted before he signs a contract. He is really hungry for it and we just need to tie up the paperwork.

"He is exactly the type of character we need. He has a huge respect among the players and has made fantastic impression with the players already."

Upon his return, Shelford is acutely aware of the huge rebuilding task on his hands, but insists it is something he is not fazed by.

"The job itself is not a daunting task," he admitted. "There is enough potential here for Saracens to get back into that top six quite easily, with the acquisition of new players."

The former All Black's captain, capped 48 times by his country, was also quick to underline the lasting effects of the previous regime which he claims are clearly evident in the performances of the demoralised squad.

"There probably hasn't been a lot of discipline in the last season or two. History says they have been on a slide since they won the cup, slowly but surely.

"I think that a lot of the kids in this Saracens' squad have been playing very narrow football and have ben coached like that for a couple of years now. I don't think they are expressing there full potential at all. A lot of what they are missing is confidence. There is a big lack of confidence in that side."

Shelford's analytical approach in assessing the scale of the assignment at Vicarage Road has unearthed some alarming statistics, giving the straight talking New Zealander some immediate issues to address on the training ground.

"Some of their stats in the last four or five games have been atrocious," remarked Shelford. "One of the big things I have noticed is that they drop a lot of ball and turn a lot of ball over 35 times against Newcastle."

In this respect, Shelford advocates a return to basics.

"The first I would teach the guys to do is how to catch and pass because if you can't catch and pass then you can't play rugby because that's the nuts and bolts of the sport.

"Down under, if you can't catch and pass you are not going to play the game. If we can catch and pass then we can build on the other things around it.

"That's just a really, really, simple skill and if we can do that well then everything else just comes along with it.

"Today (Sunday) we must have put down a dozen catches from passes, but that's a dozen less than last week, so if you look at it like that it is getting better."

Shelford was also staggered at the number of missed tackles, another facet of the game he is clearly looking to improve upon.

"Over here, they are missing 25 or 35 a game at an average of two per person. That's far too many.

"In the Premiership back home with North Harbour, I would expect them to miss no more than miss seven or eight tackles a game. That's the mentality of back home that I hoping to bring here."

Shelford, who will not take player on the pre-season tour of Japan if they are not in an acceptable physical condition, issued a stark warning to the entire squad.

"It's all about discipline and if you are not going to put that into practice, then you will not be playing here.

"Some of them are leaving anyway, and some of the older ones might be hanging it them up very soon. They have to earn the right to play for this team."