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Paul Collingwood hopes passion can bridge experience gap as England prepare for West Indies tour

England’s interim head coach Paul Collingwood revealed he still has much to learn in his new coaching capacity, but he doesn’t rule out taking the position on a full-time basis.

The 45-year-old was announced as interim replacement for Chris Silverwood, who lost his job following this year's Ashes capitulation. 

The England and Wales Cricket Board are expected to appoint a more experience name on a permanent basis, with Australian Justin Langer current touted as the favourite.

While Collingwood remains focused on the job at hand - with the tour of the West Indies just around the corner - he remains very much open to whatever opportunities might come his way.

He told Sky Sports: "Look, I would never say never, but my main focus right now is these next four weeks.

"If we get that right, hopefully as I said, we can get performances out on the park and we can rebuild.
"Playing for England is a really special thing, having the Three Lions on your shirt.
"Sometimes you probably don't realise that when you are actually playing for England, but (you do) when you finish playing and you look back on your career.
"It is an amazing job. To be coach and to try to help these guys get to where they need to be feels special as well.
"So I would never say never, but I am just concentrating solely on these next four weeks."
Collingwood announced his retirement from first-class cricket in 2018 after a successful playing career.
Despite not having much time in the coaching arena, the former England international is confident his passion for the role can bridge the gap.
He said: "I have had a little bit of experience in the past couple of years of taking over on an interim basis, and obviously I have done the T20s recently.
"I haven't got the experience behind us. I haven't done County Cricket or anything like that, but I have certainly got the passion to try to make a difference.
"I think that is something in the environment, that I try to bring people closer together, build teams, build relationships.
"The word unity keeps coming around and making sure that when you get out on that park, it is (that) we are all driving in one direction and that is key for these next three Test matches."
England begin their Test series against the West Indies on March 8 in Antigua and Barbuda.

READ MORE: James Anderson's ten greatest moments as an England player in Test cricket 

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