Danny McGuire already has a feel for what it takes to be a Super League head coach - but his early experiences have not put him off taking the leap one day.

By his own admission, McGuire - an assistant coach under Tony Smith for the past 18 months - was handed the reins at Hull KR before he was ready.

McGuire was the man Rovers turned to on an interim basis after sacking Smith at the start of this month, with incoming boss Willie Peters still contracted to Newcastle Knights until the end of 2022.

The former Great Britain half-back, who won eight Super League titles with Leeds Rhinos, inherited an injury-hit team fresh from a seventh defeat in eight games.

Danny McGuire has been in charge of Hull KR since the start of July. (Picture: SWPix.com)

McGuire has brought about an improvement, guiding the Robins to an important win over Wakefield Trinity after coming up just short against Hull FC in a Magic Weekend thriller.

Aside from the club's mounting injury crisis, McGuire's biggest challenge has been striking a balance between interim head coach and assistant, a role he will settle back into once Peters arrives.

"I've enjoyed it more than I thought I would," said McGuire, who initially stayed on at Craven Park as head of recruitment at the end of his playing career in 2019.

"I kind of know where I'm at regarding my coaching. I've got to make decisions and if you're not strong with those when you're in charge, everybody gets a sense of that.

Hull KR celebrate Lachlan Coote's try against Wakefield Trinity. (Picture: SWPix.com)

"I've got to be strong there while realising at some point I'm going to have to take a step back.

"I know where I'm at with everything. I'm enjoying it and using it for experience for further down the line."

Whereas he can go home and largely forget about rugby league as an assistant, McGuire has quickly discovered that being a head coach is all-consuming.

Only two games into his 10-match reign - more if Rovers reach the play-offs - McGuire expects to know more about his head coach ambitions at the end of the season.

Hull KR came up just short against Hull FC at St James' Park. (Picture: SWPix.com)

"You spend a lot of time thinking and working out different situations and team selections," he said.

"You've got to think about what you're going to say to the players you're not picking.

"You do have a lot of different thoughts and it eats up into a lot of your time outside of the game - but it's good and I've enjoyed it.

"I've been really busy with it. It's a bit of a contrast to what I was doing before so it's been a bit of a shock to the system, to be honest.

"My thought process was to tip everything in for the 10 weeks we had left and then reassess and learn from it afterwards."

Although he has had to contend with fresh injuries to key players and sit through two nervy finishes, McGuire has not been discouraged from pursuing a career as a head coach.

"Not yet," he said with a smile. "There's plenty more time for that to happen."

'Enjoyed it more than I thought': Hull KR's Danny McGuire shares early impressions of life as a head coach