Batley Bulldogs have appointed club legend Craig Lingard as their new head coach for the 2020 season.
Lingard will replace previous head coach Matt Diskin, who parted ways with the Bulldogs earlier this week.
As a Batley player, Lingard remains the club’s record scorer with 142 tries in 206 career appearances.
He then moved into coaching, assisting John Kear in guiding the club to a Championship Grand Final in 2013 and the Super 8s Qualifiers after a third place finish in 2016.
He then left to coach Keighley Cougars through an extremely tough period, where without a points deduction the reformed Cougars would have been sitting in third place at the time of his departure.
Meanwhile, Batley have also brought in former Salford and Halifax boss Karl Harrison, who will act as a consultant advisor to the coaching staff.
Harrison also led the Bulldogs to victory in the Northern Rail Cup during his spell as head coach between 2009 and 2011.