FORMER Ross High centre Adam Hook is “really looking forward” to his first season as the club’s head coach.

Hook, who played for the Tranent club before moving to Musselburgh, was handed the top job in the summer after getting involved with training last term.

Explaining how his appointment came about, he told Courier Sport: “I tore my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] last season and I had to get an operation; the recovery time is 9-12 months.

“A few of my mates have gone back to Ross High so I started going down [to matches] and helping them out at training.

“I then started helping out on Saturdays and that has led to me being the new head coach.”

Following Bob Baillie’s departure 12 months ago, Mark Urwin and Ian Clark were in charge of first-team affairs.

Hook said that, due to other commitments, Clark was unable to devote time to the role but that Urwin would remain part of the coaching set-up.

Hook, 27, said: “It’s great to have a guy like Mark about because he’s got a lot of experience.

“Ross Watters will be helping me out as well which is a big help for me.”

After relegation back to East League Division 2 last term, Hook set out his hopes for his hometown club this season.

He added: “The guys have set themselves the goal of getting promoted this season, and I think that’s completely achievable.

“We looked at some of the games from last season and there were a few that we lost by seven points or less, so it’s about turning them into wins.”

Hook did, though, acknowledge that it would be tough, especially with the addition of Barnton RFC to the league.

“They’ve come about because RHC and Corstorphine have split. It is effectively a side that was playing in National 3 last season playing in East 2, so that will be a really tough game for us,” he said. “There are a lot of tough games in this league.”

Ross High opened their league season with a 20-3 home win over Dalkeith on Saturday (see report on page 52) and Hook hopes a mix of youth and experience will guide them to the upper reaches of the league.

He said: “I’ve managed to get my brother Ryan to come back – he had given up playing – and Justin Savala has also come back; he’s played Edinburgh age-grade and my brother played Scotland age-grade.

“The average age of the squad must be pretty young, but we’ve got a few older guys who’ve agreed to come back as well.”

One competitive match into his coaching career, Hook admits he is “really enjoying it”, but said he hopes to return to playing once he’s fully recovered from his knee injury.

“The doctors have told me I’ll be back in about February or March, but the season is over by then, so it’ll be next season,” he added.