Edmonds yesterday said he was up to the task of steering the Kangaroos through their first Hampden league season after his shock ascension to the helm.

The former Hamilton Imperials premiership player has replaced Jake Myles in the job after the club axed Myles on Monday.

Edmonds did not apply for the coaching job when former clubs Hamilton and Hamilton Imperials merged late last year.

But he changed his thinking after officials first approached him at the weekend.

“When you’re asked you look at it in a different light,” he said.

“The scenario, obviously I’ve got a lot of interest in the club with the merger and want to see it done well.

“The imperative thing at this stage is to build a really good culture and to make sure the two clubs come together well.

“Not only are they representing themselves but the whole town and the whole region.

“It’s a terrific opportunity to build a club from the ground up. You very rarely get this opportunity, hence the reason for it being done right. I know the club was conscious of that.”

Edmonds said “respect” would be one of the core values of the club under his leadership.

“Respect for each other and respect for the club. That’s the building block for developing a very good culture,” he said.

“Two different clubs are coming together that hated each other with a passion. To build that respect and rapport is the first thing to do.”

Kangaroos officials are yet to reveal the true reason behind their axing of Myles, who coached Hamilton Imperials in 2012.

Edmonds wouldn’t comment on the saga, saying he wasn’t a member of the club board.

He preferred to look forward and last night took the playing group for training for the first time.

Edmonds would not nominate a performance expectation for the Kangaroos, insisting their goal was that young players “show signs of improvement”.

He was adamant a merger and entry into the Hampden league was the right thing for football in Hamilton.

“We don’t want to come in knowing we’re going to be an easy beat,” he said.

“We know we have some challenges ahead. We want to build some really good building blocks so five, 10 years down the track it’s really well established.

“I can see the club having a very good future with what’s already up there junior development wise and recruiting wise.”