BATLEY BULLDOGS have handed James Ford a route back into coaching.

The 42-year-old former York team chief has been out of the game since leaving Featherstone in February.

The Fox’s Biscuits Stadium club are currently under the interim control of John Kear, who replaced Mark Moxon in late June.

As well as trying to bring stability after a tough start to the season (six points from the first twelve league games), hugely-experienced Kear was tasked with helping the club find a permanent successor to Moxon, who had been at the helm since replacing Craig Lingard ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Ford, who helped York make significant progress between taking the reins in 2015 and leaving after the 2022 season, has impressed in talks with Batley and will become coach at the end of this campaign.

The minster-city club were homeless due to a wrangle with the council when he took over, having played for Featherstone, Sheffield, Castleford, Widnes and York, but he still managed to steer them to a fourth-place finish in League One.

Promotion was won as third-tier champions in 2018, and Ford twice took York to the Championship play-offs, as well as to Wembley in the 1895 Cup final of 2021, which Featherstone won 41-34.

After leaving, he initially worked as assistant to Mark Applegarth at Wakefield (the latter is now, of course, in charge at York), but became director of rugby at Featherstone in May 2023, taking the team reins when Sean Long, now in charge of Oldham, left three months later.

Featherstone reached the play-offs in 2023 and again last season.

Batley, who have built a reputation for punching above their weight in budget terms, reached the Championship Grand Final in 2022 and the 1895 Cup final in 2023.

They have three further matches this season, at home to London Broncos on Saturday, against Toulouse in France on Saturday, September 6, and at York on Sunday 14.