Wests Tigers coaching candidate Ivan Cleary admits he misses coaching but enjoys the challenge of rebuilding the club from the ground up.

Less than a day after the Tigers sacked coach Jason Taylor, Cleary has spoken of the challenges he faced laying the foundations in previous stints at the Warriors and Penrith.

“The similarity is that there was a clear mandate to develop at both those clubs; neither of them really were recruitment clubs and they were both rebuilding,” Cleary told the NSWRL website.

“Both programs weren’t in great shape when I started, so there was a fair bit of work to do from the bottom up – and I enjoy that.”

The Wests Tigers are currently without an established coach, while their so-called big four in Aaron Woods, James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks are all unsigned beyond 2017.

Cleary conceded there would always be challenging times for rebuilding clubs, but relished in helping teams back on their feet.

“”That’s all I’ve really done to be honest. It’s really rewarding to see young guys come into first grade,” said Cleary, who was recently appointed to lead Lebanon at this year’s World Cup.

“There’s a bit of pain associated with it because it takes a while for them to get a handle on (playing in the NRL) but yeah, I enjoyed that process.”

Cleary is one of two coaches linked to Concord, along with former under-20s mentor Todd Payten, while Andrew Webster has been installed as interim head coach.