MATT Diskin was today confirmed as the new Batley Bulldogs head coach from the end of the current season.

As exclusively revealed in the Telegraph & Argus on March 31, Diskin was recently interviewed for the position along with former Bradford boss Francis Cummins, ex-Featherstone coach Andy Hay and Batley assistant coach Craig Lingard.

The Batley board, inconjunction with outgoing boss John Kear who will return to Wakefield in October, have opted for 34-year-old Diskin after interviewing five candidates in total.

Bulls assistant first-team coach and Under-19s boss Diskin is highly regarded and presided over last weekend’s 52-18 win at Dewsbury in the absence of Jimmy Lowes.

Diskin is now looking to end his time at Bradford on a high and said: "We’ve had a tough start to the season but the result last Sunday was a big positive and a great confidence boost.

“It is important we develop from that performance and build for the rest of the season as we aim to conclude the year in the Qualifiers.

“Players returning from injury will strengthen the competition for places, which is a big positive when we aim to finish the year strongly.

“I was welcomed with open arms when I first arrived and Bradford feels like a home from home.

"The staff who I have met at the club will be lifelong friends and I considered some of them my closest friends.

“It is going to be sad to leave. We’ve worked very hard with the Youth setup over the last couple of years to get it back into a positive position.

“I am 100% confident the job we’ve done will be a success for the next five to ten years, which was the goal when we started.

“For me to leave the group and those youth players is very, very tough but the role at Batley is also the next step in my progression and development as a coach.

“I have a commitment to the group until the end of the year and my duty now is to make sure as many of the Academy lads are at the right level and ready for the first team by the end of this year.

"I think we’ve got five or six Academy players who could comfortably push into the first team squad for 2017.”

Diskin joined the Bulls from Leeds at the end of the 2010 campaign and retired at the end of the relegation season of 2014.

Batley chief executive Paul Harrison said: “It has been an exceedingly difficult task for the Board assisted by John Kear and myself.

"The candidates were all exceptional in interview and difficult to separate but after much soul searching and sleepless nights we now think we have a new coach who will be great for our club and is ambitious for himself as well.

"It will be a good fit when he starts in October and I personally am looking forward to working with him.

"He was a quality player who has been under the guidance of exceptional coaches throughout his career and is a very determined character.”