Andrew Henderson becomes York City Knights head coach after leaving Keighley Cougars role

The 43-year-old, who played for Castleford Tigers and Sheffield Eagles during his playing career, has left his role as Keighley Cougars' head of rugby to take the top job at York.

Henderson was London Broncos' head coach from 2015 to 2017 before becoming an assistant at Warrington Wolves, a position he held until the end of last season.

“I’m really excited to be on board and I’m grateful for the opportunity that the owner Clint Goodchild has presented me," said Henderson.

“I’m really pleased after having discussions with him that I feel that we are aligned with how we view the game and how a club should operate along with our aspirations and ambitions.

“York is a club with a huge amount of potential and I feel that if we get it right here, we can be a genuine Super League club in the future that will add value to that competition.

"I think we have got a lot to offer and I have to give credit to James Ford. He’s left the club in a good place and we’ve got the foundations of a good team that’s competitive.

“He’s given me a really good platform to work off to hopefully take this club and this team forward.

“I’m thankful that the club have given me this opportunity and I hope I can repay the faith and trust they’ve put in me as a head coach to get the performances from the team to get the results and give the fans the opportunity to not only watch exciting rugby league but also Super League here in York.”

Henderson inherits a team that finished sixth in the Championship before claiming a first-ever play-off victory against Halifax Panthers.

The Knights were looking for a new head coach after Ford left to take an assistant role at Wakefield Trinity.

Goodchild added: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to secure the services of Andrew Henderson as our new Knights head coach.

“He has great experience as a head coach in the Championship while also lifting silverware as an assistant coach in a full-time operation in Super League. That experience will prove invaluable to York RLFC as an organisation as we look to continue our progress and growth as a club.

"Andrew’s experience will drive our operation further and the fact he has a great knowledge of the British game from top to bottom will be of benefit.

“Everything we will be doing as a club moving forward is geared towards moving to a successful full-time operation and the fact that Andrew knows what winning looks like in a full-time environment as well as in the Championship is key to that.

“I’m excited to see what he can do with the squad as we move into the 2023 season and beyond.”