Andrew Henderson appointed York coach on long-term deal

York have appointed Andrew Henderson as their new head coach on a five-year deal.

Henderson, 43, leaves his role as director of rugby at Keighley to succeed James Ford, who left York recently to join Wakefield as assistant.

The former Scotland international was Championship Coach of the Year in 2017 when in charge at London Broncos. He left at the end of that season to be Steve Price’s assistant coach at Warrington.

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

“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.

“I think 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.”

Chairman Clint Goodchild added: “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 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.”