HEAD coach James Ford has hailed the re-signing of local favourite Pat Smith as York City Knights continue building for 2017.

Smith, the 2015 club captain, is the latest player to be confirmed as being on board for next season, and the first since the club were taken over by new owners and reinstated back into Kingstone Press League One last Friday.

Brother Ed, veterans Jonny Presley and Tommy Saxton and young half-back Danny Sowerby had already been named as on the provisional squad list should the team get the green light, and several more are now set to be announced in the coming days and weeks.

"Pat's a proven player at this level," said Ford of the 26-year-old, who was a Championship One Player of the Year nominee in 2014 after joining his hometown club from the then Championship champions Sheffield Eagles.

"We probably didn't see the best of him last year for reasons outside of his control, missing pre-season as he did (due to work commitments abroad), but he made a good fist of catching up and, come the back end of the season, he was playing pretty well.

"He's a very astute young man with excellent understanding of the game and that will be important for us this year with a young, new group.

"To have a few people like Pat on board is crucial and I'm looking forward to working with him. Our relationship is strong enough for us to be really honest with one another and that's very healthy moving forward."

Smith has played 66 times for his hometown club, initially at half-back but with Ford seeing him more as a hooker. He has scored 25 tries.

He has been with the club throughout the past two years' off-field troubles and at times was seen as a spokesman for the squad behind the scenes.

Ford said: "Pat's a good communicator. It's more about looking forward now. He will raise the standards of the squad on and off the field. He believes in that side of things and hopefully we will see the best of him on the pitch next year."