HE’S the man charged with the task of making Huddersfield Giants an even stronger Super League power.

But if rugby league hadn’t come to his rescue, Paul Anderson would have been facing a life as a fork-lift truck driver.

It’s not that Anderson has anything against the profession. It’s just he’s far happier dealing with the high-pressured demands of being a head coach of a high-profile Super League club.

His promotion to the top Giants job may have come a little earlier than expected, having taken over from previous head coach Nathan Brown in July as Huddersfield suffered a dramatic fall from grace.

From being top of Super League in April, the men in claret and gold are now just clinging on to a top-eight play-off spot with two games of the regular season remaining.

As a result, it’s been something of a baptism of fire for former Great Britain, Bradford Bulls and St Helens prop Anderson, who celebrated his 40th birthday last October.

The hours may be long and time for himself may be at an absolute premium.

Yet Anderson wouldn’t have it any other way.

If it’s a choice between a Super League head coach or working as a fork-lift truck driver in a warehouse, it’s an obvious non-contest.

“It is tough and it is demanding. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t,” said Anderson, who enjoyed a glittering 15-year playing career during which time he savoured World Club Challenge Super League Grand Final and Challenge Cup final success.

“But I do feel blessed that I was able to play the game for so long and have then been able to go on to pursue a coaching career.

“To be honest, I was never one of those who always had a burning desire to be a head coach of a professional club. It just sort of crept up when I was getting towards the end of my playing career.

“I remember when I was playing at Bradford and I’d just turned 30. It was then I got this reality check and I thought: ‘What on earth am I going to do next!’

“I wasn’t privileged at school in regards to my education. It was never a strong point for me.

“I’d left school, got my licence to be a fork-lift truck driver and went straight to work in warehouses.

“Fortunately for me, I became a full-time rugby league player soon after, and at that stage I didn’t give much thought to a life at the end of the rugby.

“But, like I said, when I got to 30, the reality of the situation kicked in.

“I’d got a missus and two young kids to support and a mortgage to pay. It was then I realised I needed to do something about it.”

Anderson admits, however, that a fair amount of luck was involved in taking his first tentative steps into the world of coaching.

“A couple of neighbours of ours were involved with Normanton Knights and they invited me to help coach their Under 18s side,” said Castleford-born Anderson, who is affectionately known throughout the game as Baloo, because of a similar stature to that of the highly-popular and loveable bear in Jungle Book.

“I then also began to help with the first team, and that was the start. I knew coaching was for me.

“And even though I was still playing, I also started to look at my education again and did some studying.

“Everything was slowly falling into place, although the biggest break came at the start of 2006 when Jon Sharp approached me about the possibility of joining his coaching set-up at the Giants. It was perfect.

“The 2006 season was always going to be my last as a player, so the timing couldn’t have been better.

“Sharpy obviously thought I might have something to offer. I’d been enjoying it at Normanton Knights and I felt I was able to pass on a lot of knowledge.

“I’d been lucky enough to play to a ripe old age and I’d learned a few things along the way. It was now my chance to pass it on.”

Anderson spent a full season working under Sharp before taking temporary charge of the Giants with fellow assistant Kieron Purtill in mid-2008 when their boss was axed.

At the start of 2009, Australian Brown took over, with Anderson continuing as his assistant.

But his wait to get the top job ended six weeks ago when Brown left before the end of the season – three months earlier than originally planned.

It was now Anderson’s time.

“It’s been five-and-a-half years waiting for this chance, and I’m ready,” he added.

“I’m well aware the demands are now that much greater, but I’ve always known this would be the case.

“Even though I’ve only been head coach for a month or so, I know if I’d got any hair it would have already turned grey!”

“There’s obviously a lot more responsibility on the decisions I make.

“As an assistant, you throw ideas and suggestions out there without really putting a massive amount of thought into it.

“Whereas in the position I’m in now, you have to digest everything you hear, throw it around a few times, then either bin it or take it on board. Whatever decisions you make you’ve got to try and justify them in your own mind and believe 100% in what you’re going to do.

“I was lucky in that Nathan treated me as more than just an assistant, so I’ve already got the experience of being involved in going to board meetings and press conferences and taking charge of group training sessions.

“That’s helped tremendously in my transition, while it’s also good that I’m now in a position to manage my own time.

“I’m no longer dictated by anyone else about when I’m doing things. I know that if I can get the work I need to do during the week, I can try and shut down and relax.

“And that’s as important as anything.”

The role of the head coach means Anderson will be spending even less time with his family, his wife Lisa and sons Jack (15) and Ben (12), while outside interests of his own have now been put well and truly on the back-burner.

“Spending time with the family is very important to me. Even though I’m a head coach who’s usually the first to arrive at the club and the last to leave, I’ll never lose sight of the fact I’m also a husband and a dad.

“Having said that, the wife has been on my case about the phone going non-stop!

“In the first couple of weeks I took over, I was having to charge the phone up twice or three times a day. That was either down to a poor battery or plenty of activity, and it was certainly the latter!

“And one of things I am managing to do is take my youngest son, Ben, to his rugby training.

“He plays for Oulton Under 12s and the biggest key is that he enjoys himself and can enjoy that without the pressure of dad and knowing what dad does. He just gets on with it.

“To be honest, I’ve learned the lesson with my youngest from my oldest, Jack, in regards to pushing him into playing. He just walked away from it in the end because of that.

“Ben wanted to play, so it was grandad who took him at first, rather than me.

“But I do go to watch him, although I stay out of the way as much as possible. If the coach asks me for advice, then obviously I’ll give him some, but I won’t interfere.

“And when it comes to Ben I don’t feel the need, because he’s coming on well.

“He plays a bit of stand-off and has everything his dad didn’t, which is skill and speed.

“Whether he continues playing is going to be down to him, and him alone. I’m going to keep my distance.

“But I think he already knows that if he does have any ambition to be a Super League head coach, he’s going to have to make a lot of sacrifices.

“He know it would be tough, but he also knows it can become the most rewarding job in the world.”