BATLEY BULLDOGS coach John Kear says he’s ready to hand over the reins to James Ford and “ride off into the sunset”.

The highly-respected former Bramley, Paris SG, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Hull, Wakefield, Bradford, Widnes, France, England and Wales team chief ended his second stint at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium club with a 52-12 defeat at York.

The 70-year-old is set to retain his Rugby League involvement via continued corporate work for Wakefield and punditry.

But he’s not planning on any further coaching, having ended a two-year hiatus from club involvement by accepting Batley Chairman Kevin Nicholas’ request to return and steady the ship following Mark Moxon’s mid-June decision to leave the club. That meant he passed the 700-match milestone as a coach.

Kear, whose first spell at Batley ran from October 2011 to September 2016, stood down as coach of Wales in July and has played a central role in Batley’s appointment of former York and Featherstone coach Ford.

“I’ve enjoyed a great deal being back at a special club I have an awful lot of time for, and hopefully I have been able to stabilise things ready for James Ford to take the job on,” said Kear.

“But it’s also been a reminder of just how much time and commitment is required to be a coach of a professional club.

“While my other commitments will scratch that Rugby League itch, coaching-wise, I am happy to ride off into the sunset, have a rest and recharge, and play a bit more golf.”

Kear has found wins hard to come by this time around, but has seen encouragement in several performances, not least at Toulouse, where the hosts were 46-22 winners.

“It’s hard enough for full-time teams to cope with the logistics of a trip to France, so to do it as a part-time club is challenging,” he pointed out.

“Given all that, I was happy with what the players dished up.”