Ex-England international and Super League star Leon Pryce will be the man at the helm of Workington Town next season.

The club has unveiled the former Bradford and St Helens centre as their new head coach after he signed a two-year deal with the Derwent Park side.

Pryce recently brought the curtain down on a glittering playing career, which began when he was a 16-year old at Bradford Bulls in 1998.

And now he is looking to begin a coaching career at Workington, where the board were impressed with his vision for the future.

Delighted Town chairman Garry Mounsey said: “We’re delighted to have recruited someone of Leon’s stature in the game.

“He enjoyed an outstanding playing career and is one of the most respected figures in modern-day rugby league.

“We were all impressed with Leon’s vision for the club and it goes without saying that we share his ambitions.

"He is very articulate and has a deeply impressive knowledge of the game. We are confident that he will have the team playing a brand of rugby that will be very popular with the fans."

Mounsey added that the club is keen to move forward and he believes that Pryce is the man to lead them back to success.

He added: “After a season of rebuilding in 2017, we are keen to move forward again.

"We enjoyed three successful seasons in the Championship so we are aware of what Workington Town is capable of.

"Having a man like Leon at the helm is the way forward for us.”

Pryce has a superb pedigree in the game and said he was looking forward to getting started in his coaching career.

"It’s a great move for me and it’s good to get a chance in coaching," said Pryce. "I’ve only been retired for six months, so it’s nice to get the opportunity so early.

"I’ve been going up to Workington for a long time since I was a young lad, and my friend Craig McDowell, who I played with in the Academy at Bradford, used to take me up there.

"It’s maybe a little sooner than what I expected, to get my first coaching job, but I think it’s the right opportunity for me.

"It’s a good level for me to start at too and a great club in Workington."

Pryce said in the end it was an easy decision to make to take up the role.

He added: "The people up there at Workington convinced me it was the right move for me now.

"Garry Mounsey and all the board of directors seem like really good people, and they seem a good family club. It was a pretty simple decision to make, in all honesty.

"We’ll get together with the directors soon, plan our budget and what we’ve got to spend and we’ll give it our best shot from there.

"We’ll go through everything properly and use the contacts we’ve got to the best of our ability to make it a great season."

Pryce played in nine Grand Finals with Bradford and St Helens, winning four, while also featuring in six Challenge Cup Finals, tasting victory in five.

He also won World Club Challenges against Newcastle Knights and Penrith Panthers with Bradford and against Brisbane Broncos for Saints.

Pryce is one of a handful of players to have won the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match in the Challenge Cup Final and the Harry Sunderland Trophy as the best player in a Grand Final.

On the international scene, he won 17 Great Britain caps and made seven England appearances, scoring eight tries in all.

After leaving St Helens in 2011, he went on to play for Catalans Dragons and Hull FC before a second spell with Bradford this year in the Championship, his 20th season as a professional.