Tuesday 18 December 2018 16:17, UK
Leicester Tigers have appointed Geordan Murphy as head coach on a permanent basis following an interim spell in charge.
Murphy won the Premiership on eight occasions with the Tigers during his playing career, scoring 93 tries in 322 appearances, and joined their coaching staff after his retirement in 2013.
The Ireland international took over as interim head coach in September when Matt O'Connor was sacked but he has been unable to arrest their slide down the Gallagher Premiership table.
Leicester sit in a lowly eighth place with only three wins from nine games, and they are only three points above bottom side Newcastle.
Murphy said: "This club means a lot to me, I've been here a long time and we all want to enjoy success with the Tigers.
"For me, performances on the field begin with the pride, passion and commitment you want to see from a Leicester Tigers team. It is about that passion for the shirt.
"A Tigers team is built around the beliefs of working hard for each other, everyone being a team player and also about having a real intent and integrity about what we do. These are base-level principles. That is what passion on the field looks like to me.
"[Chairman] Peter Tom and the Tigers board have been very supportive of me. They've told me that whatever we need, they will support. The coaching team and the players have been very good since I was given the opportunity.
"We've had a challenging start to the season and we are working hard to improve performances and results, but this is also the start of a journey for this coaching team and playing group. There is a lot of quality there and we still have everything to play for this season.
"We are looking at how and what we can add to the coaching team in terms of experience and quality, and it has to be the right fit for the team.
"The supporters can play their part on that journey too and we hope they will be with us all the way."
