WARRINGTON Wolves and England forward Mike Cooper is the new director of rugby at the club where he first shaped his rugby league career.

Cooper, who has returned to The Wire after three seasons in the NRL with St George Illawarra Dragons, is to oversee a restructure at Latchford Albion Amateur Rugby League Club.

The overhaul will include the introduction of a new youth section.

Cooper, one of four former Latchford players now in the full-time ranks with The Wire, said: " I made it clear to the club that I would help any way I can and I'm proud to oversee the development of future players wearing Latchford's colours to hopefully full-time professionals."

Current director of rugby Mick Byron becomes chairman of the club with the committee's full backing.

It is envisaged the new structure will provide a clear pathway for players to develop and progress, perhaps reaching professional status in the same way as Cooper, Dec Patton, Andre Savelio and Joe Philbin have at Warrington.

Byron said: "Latchford have a fantastic tradition in regards to player development, with current England internationals Mike Cooper and Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos) both coming through the ranks.

"Added to this current players Ryan Hickman and Danny Brown have both represented England Lionhearts in the last 18 months.

"Connor Muir was an Albion junior and in his first full open-age season he received the players' player of the season award so it shows we offer a great player pathway and having Mike on board can only improve this."

Byron explained how the move came about for Cooper to step into the role at the Victoria Park Stadium based community club.

"We had an initial chat on his return from Australia and I was impressed with his vision and commitment which fits perfectly with the ethos of the club," he said.

"Over the past five years the club has changed dramatically with a forward thinking committee, aided by local supporter Lee Birchall, allowing us to provide one of the best sporting facilities in amateur rugby which we are proud to call our home and also provides the perfect environment for players to prosper."

Latchford's open-age squad are currently in pre-season training ahead of a return to the North West Men's League Premier Division in 2017.

Any players, coaches, volunteers who are interested in joining Latchford's journey can contact the club via their website or social media pages.