ANDREW HENDERSON welcomed newly-appointed assistant coach Paul Cooke with open arms after the former England international joined York Knights earlier this week.

Cooke joins Henderson’s backroom staff after a stint as Doncaster’s head coach in the 2014/15 season, as well as a tenure as the assistant head coach at Leigh Leopards to accompany a career majorly spent in the Betfred Super League.

The former England international completes York’s coaching staff alongside Ged Corcoran and Will Leatt, and arrives under heavy recommendation for the Knights head coach.

“Paul’s a quality coach,” Henderson enthused.

“I know from people that I have spoken to that have worked under Paul or with Paul that gave him a bit rap.

“I was looking to try and strengthen the coaching team and was thinking where we could help our players to get better.

“That’s what it’s about for me, we’ve had a pretty strong end to last season with the tools that we have, it’s now about what we can add to that from a performance stance and to try and help improve our players.

“We’ve got a new physio in and have added Paul Cooke to the coaching team as well, it’s making us better.

“We’re doing the best we can with the resources we have, and Paul’s a welcome addition.

“He’s got a lot of experience, not only from his playing days but also his coaching days, both in rugby league and rugby union.

“He’s more of a skills coach to work with the outside backs and the edges because that’s his strength, we’ll look at some of the attack stuff out there too.

“He’s a welcome addition and gives us a nice balance too, with Ged working with the forwards and Paul more with the backs and the halves.”