Win games and respect - that's ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham's challenge to the team this year as one of the club's greatest players begins a mission to restore pride in Canberra.

Fed up with dwindling crowds and criticism of the Brumbies, Larkham wants to rebuild the club holistically.

That means investing more time into fans, sponsors and Canberra's premier rugby competition in an attempt to turn around the Brumbies' fortunes.

A foundation Brumbies player, World Cup winner and two-time Super Rugby champion, Larkham takes the coaching reins solo for the first time this year.

He wants on-field success. But after watching the club lose more than $1 million last year, battle boardroom overhauls and struggle to attract crowds - even to finals - Larkham wants to instigate change.

"I look at the whole organisation ... we've got to promote the team, market the team and match-day experience," Larkham said.

"We want to get respect from the general public and the business community. I think we've lost a lot of that general respect in the last few years.

"We want it all back because, without the local community, we can't have sustained success on the field. My job is to make the team successful, but I can contribute to other things.

"The way we dealt with businesses and the general public wasn't up to scratch. That's a big emphasis and challenge to turn that around."

The "training wheels" will come off for Larkham this season as he shoulders the responsibility of being a head coach for the first time.

Having served apprenticeships under Andy Friend, Tony Rea, Jake White and Laurie Fisher, Larkham gets his chance to run the show. Larkham shared the Brumbies coaching duties with Fisher last season, effectively in a co-coach set up with Larkham taking control of the back line and Fisher guiding the forwards.

"There will be pressure. I want to make sure there is my stamp on the program, but it's in consultation with all of the other coaches," Larkham said.

"I don't feel the pressure. I feel we've got a successful formula ... fans will turn out but they want to see an entertaining team. It's a fine line between attacking, entertaining rugby and a team that wins.

"I want to be a winning coach. I want to be a successful coach. I know I'm only early into my career and I've still got a lot to learn."

Larkham has already set about putting his mark on the Brumbies. He sat the entire squad down at a pre-season camp in Jindabyne - the same place the inaugural Brumbies held their first camp 20 years ago - and detailed his plan.

His No.1 mantra is simple: Larkham wants the squad to be more tight-knit than it has ever been, so there is a sense of pride in what the team is trying to achieve.

"If you want to call it an apprenticeship or whatever, [Larkham] is ready to go," said Brumbies captain Stephen Moore.

"From the time he retired I think he's had his heart set on coaching. He loves it and he's a very deep thinker of the game.

"He's a great mentor as well and I think he'll be very successful. He knows what's important and he's probably learnt a lot from Jake, Laurie and Eddie Jones.

"We're lucky to have someone who was a legend at the club. There's no doubt there will be more pressure now ... a lot of people said as a player he would see things before everyone else, and that's the same as his coaching.

"He's very passionate, he grew up in this club and that comes through to the players."

Larkham is also poised to sign a deal with the ARU to take on an assistant coaching role with the Wallabies this year.

Test coach Michael Cheika has targeted Larkham as a key man to help the Wallabies at the World Cup.

Larkham played 127 games for the Brumbies and 102 Tests for the Wallabies, famously kicking a match-winning drop goal in the 1999 World Cup semi-final against South Africa. So is he worried about tarnishing his legacy?

"I guess I was an attacking player who could kick. I looked for opportunities to run but I had a pretty good pass," Larkham said. "But I prided myself on my defence as a player, with the end goal of always trying to win. For me it was about being competitive, not attacking. It was about doing whatever it took to win a game.

"Everything you do is about winning, that's how I want to be seen as a coach. Someone who drives winning culture."