Steve McNamara said today that last year’s scrap to keep Catalans Dragons in Super League was the most pressure he had experienced as a coach.

The former England boss took over at Stade Gilbert Brutus last June with the French club struggling in the bottom four.

McNamara was unable to steer Catalans clear of danger and a narrow defeat by Widnes in the final round of the Qualifiers consigned the Dragons to a Million Pound Game showdown with Leigh.

Catalans looked in danger of dropping out of Super League for the first time but delivered a stirring second-half fightback to take the final place in the top flight for 2018.

“You ask anybody — any player or coach — who’s been involved in that Million Pound Game, it’s an extremely tough situation,” said McNamara, who led England to the semi-finals of the 2013 World Cup.

“It was always the reality that it could happen when I took the job. Thankfully we got ourselves out of that situation.

“It’s something that you won’t experience anywhere else in rugby league.

“It’s a reality check for everybody, without a doubt. It was pretty close to being a disaster.

“In terms of improving, what it does is give everyone that real impetus that we’ve got to be better. The players have had a great attitude towards doing that.”

Catalans will aim to hit the ground running when they open their season at Widnes yesterday.

McNamara is excited by the task of turning the cosmopolitan Dragons into a Super League force again.

“I don’t think there’s a bigger challenge in the sport,” he said.

“You’ve got to be able to understand the different cultures, there’s language barriers and everything else.

“That’s why the job is so attractive to me. It’s the biggest challenge going.”