The 38-year-old was unable to keep Leeds in the Guinness Premiership, having won promotion in the first of his two years as director of rugby, and there are fears that the club might never be able to re-establish itself as a major force in the top flight.

Lancaster, though, still believes that his team can get back up to the Premiership and stay there.

He is not one to blow his own trumpet, but he rightly points out that Leeds are in a far stronger position than they were when he took over from Phil Davies in May 2006: back then, relegation was followed by an exodus, leaving the new coach with just seven senior players to pick from.

This time, all but two of the best players are on board for next season – and star wing Tom Biggs may yet stay – and several new signings have either been confirmed or are imminent.

To Lancaster, who is ending a 16-year association with Leeds, stability is key.

"Teams evolve, grow, mature," he said. "If you keep your core together and make quality additions every year, the team gets stronger and more experienced.

"Ultimately, you can break through and get to the top. I feel that Leeds can do it. Worrying that they couldn't was never something I considered when I accepted the RFU job."

Lancaster cites Bath, second in the league, as a fine example of what can be achieved when a team stays together and builds.

Of course, Bath have a cachet, a history and a budget that Leeds have never had, and the West Country aristocrats have never had to contend with relegation.

Leeds are several years behind Bath, but Lancaster's argument is that they are improving, and that they will be better prepared for the top flight should they win National One next season.

"I think the club is in a far better place than it was two years ago," he said. "Hopefully, it will be a seamless transition, like it was when Tony Smith left Leeds Rhinos and Brian McClennan took over. The coaches are in place and the playing squad is virtually in place – there is still some scope for the new man."

Before he became director of rugby, Lancaster spent five years running the club's RFU-funded regional academy. His record in that role was exemplary: Leeds's academy was rated the best in the country and produced several players who are now pushing for the full England team.

He seems ideally suited for his new RFU post as 'head of elite player development' – he says that he would not have left Leeds for any other job.

He will oversee the progress of all England qualified-players below the Test team; he will be responsible for what the RFU call 'administration and elite player development processes' but he stresses that he will also have direct coaching involvement.

Lancaster, who will have an office at Twickenham says he will miss 'the week-to-week intensity' of preparing for matches, and the atmosphere at Leeds.

His reign as director of rugby is difficult to assess: in his first season, he rebuilt the squad and won the league.

However, Leeds were expected to be promoted from National One, despite their exodus, because they had the biggest budget, the best facilities and the best academy, and were the biggest draw for players.

Having only secured promotion in April, Leeds struggled to attract players of the calibre required to survive in the Premiership.

Relegation looked inevitable from the outset. Two wins and a draw from 21 league matches, plus a respectable European Challenge Cup campaign, is about par given the circumstances.

"I had two extremes," said Lancaster. "In one season, we were everyone's favourites, in the next we were everyone's underdogs."

Maybe a better coach could have won National One with more time to spare, before all the available players were signed up elsewhere; maybe a coach of greater repute could have attracted top players and kept Leeds up.

However, it would have taken a miracle to avoid relegation and it needed an astute director of rugby to navigate Leeds back to promotion so on balance, Lancaster's tenure must be deemed a success.

He is now determined to exit his Leeds career with something of a flourish when title-chasing Wasps visit Headingley Carnegie for the final game of the Premiership season tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Leeds trio Jacob Rowan, Joe Barker and George Ford have been named in the England Under-18s squad to tour Argentina in the coming summer.



Lancaster's Leeds record

Premiership 05/06: P1 W0 D0 L1

National 1: P30 W24 D2 L4

EDF Trophy: P2 W1 D0 L1

Premiership 07/08: P21 W2 D1 L18

European Challenge Cup: P7 W4 D0 L3

EDF Cup: P3 W0 D1 L2

Overall: P64 W31 D4 L29