Salford RLFC caretaker boss Dave Hewitt has been handed a contract extension until the end of the season.
The former Rochdale Hornets scrum half joined the newly reformed Championship club at the start of the campaign as the assistant manager to Mike Grady.
He took over the role as Salford head coach in March when Grady stepped down from the post by mutual agreement after less than three months at the helm.
The 30-year-old was in charge for two of Salford’s three wins in the second tier and has been rewarded for overseeing an upturn in form with a new contract.
“It is a massive honour for myself to take the Head Coach role for the rest of this year. It gets me excited for what this season holds,” Hewitt said.
“It is a massive privilege that the club, the directors and Ryan (Brierley) have asked me to take over for the rest of the season.”
On Monday, Salford confirmed club captain Brad Dwyer had put pen to paper on a deal that would keep him at the club until the end of the campaign.
The experienced hooker had already been assisting within Paul Hewitt’s coaching set-up on an informal basis, but the club have now officially confirmed that Dwyer will combine assistant coaching responsibilities with his playing duties.
Hewitt said Dwyer has been a “breath of fresh air,” and described his “relentless” and “ruthless” coaching style as similar to his own.
33-year-old Dwyer said: “This is something that I have been doing for a while now. It is one of the main reasons why I am still here. I am pretty lucky to have a foot in a coaching role whilst still playing.
“It has been tough, difficult and new, but it is something that I have loved doing.
“It’s been great since Dave has come in and we have seen an improvement. I wanted to be part of a competitive team and I think we can do that.”
Salford RLFC CEO Ryan Brierley believes that the side are showing signs of improvement because of Hewitt and Dwyer’s hard work.
“The performances and playing squad are slowly improving and that has largely been down to Dave and Brad’s professionalism, work ethic and ultimately, they care,” said the former captain of the club’s old incarnation, Salford Red Devils.
“I don’t think this club right now needs dramatic change, things are settling and before we enter the next strategic phase of our development, which will include some really exciting and interesting developments, from a football department, stability is needed and I’m sure all the fan base would agree.”
