Doncaster Knights determined to look up rather than over their shoulders

Over the last 24 months the club have failed to meet expectations, finishing seventh and 10th in the Greene King IPA Championship amid troubles off the field with Griffiths suffering a heart attack in September.

Now, armed with stability in the form of the arrival of three new coaches, including head coach Tom Smith, Griffiths is back to full health and has a renewed determination.

He said: “Last season, we had a lot of injuries and there were several things going on but the last two seasons haven’t lived up to our expectations.

“We want to have a big say on promotion rather than looking behind our shoulders at the dreaded position of relegation.

“There’s only one place to get back to expectations and that’s on the training field. We’ve been going hell for leather for seven weeks now and we’ve seen some great gains.”

Smith is joined by new assistant coach Steve Boden and skills and backs coach Francis Cummins.

Griffiths added: “Our new coaching staff are keen to impress too and everyone is eager to get going.

“The new guys will bring different voices and a different approach. Any new idea is a good idea and there’s a lot of specialism to this group now.”