Mark McCall guided Saracens to Champions Cup glory against Racing 92 last weekend.
Mark McCall's "passion and care" for Saracens' players can help set the Champions Cup winners apart from their rivals at home and in Europe, according to Maro Itoje.
Fast-blossoming lock Itoje could now cap a towering 12 months by helping Saracens retain their Aviva Premiership title -- after underpinning England's Grand Slam and his club's European title.
The understated head coach McCall appears quite happy for his role to remain under the radar, but Itoje believes much of Saracens' successes start and end with the man at the top.
"He's a brilliant man-manager, he knows how to get the best out of his players," Itoje told Press Association Sport. "He knows what boxes to tick, he manages his coaches well, he understands the club, he understands what the players need.
"He prepares us unbelievably well each week without fail. He's a very experienced coach and he's been doing this for quite a while now. His efforts are paying dividends.
"I'm fortunate to be part of a special team I think. They are not only special players but magnificent people, who front up every week.
"They work unbelievably hard every week without fail, it's been a long old season with no breaks, it's been pretty consistent over the last year or so. And the coaches have been unbelievable with the way they've prepared the team, and the passion and care they have shown for the players."
Reigning Premiership champions Saracens host Leicester Tigers in Saturday's league semifinal battle at Allianz Park.
Richard Cockerill, the man on the other side of the fence as Tigers head coach, stressed the importance of fresh minds and fresh bodies ahead of the crucial clash.
With a place in the top four already assured for the 12th successive year, Cockerill rested Telusa Veainu, Niki Goneva, Marcos Ayerza, Dan Cole, Lachlan McCaffrey, Opeti Fonua and Graham Kitchener last weekend as his side lost 38-27 to Bath.
Resting so many players was not an easy decision for Cockerill who admitted part of him wanted to ''send the best team to knock lumps out of them'' but he felt he had to look at the bigger picture -- Saturday's trip to Saracens at Allianz Park.
"We had to make sure we rested guys and looked after guys for the semi," said Cockerill. "We would have liked to win [at Bath] but it was not about egos, it was about getting out of it what we wanted and, by and large, I thought we did.
"A lot of the boys have had a rest, so they'll be fresh. All of us coaches had done our preparation by then and it is important that we are not cramming stuff in the week before the game and getting them to learn too much.
"At this late stage of the season, fresh minds and fresh legs are crucial. Some of our lads will not have played any competitive rugby for three weeks ahead of this weekend but, in this season more than any, that is a good thing.
"They have been able to rest and regenerate their bodies. It has been a long season and the lads have played a lot of rugby and it has been tough for everyone, including the medical staff and conditioning coaches.
"Overall, we are in good shape injury-wise and there have been some tough selection choices this week. We all know we need to be at our very best to beat Saracens.
Leicester have not won at Saracens in three attempts and lost both Premiership fixtures against the Londoners this season, including a 26-6 defeat at Allianz Park in January.
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