BOSS Louie Tonkin says Pontypool plan to take their time to get the right man in as backs coach following the departure of Stuart Lawrence.

The former fly-half/full-back returned to Pooler under then director of rugby Alun Carter in the summer of 2014 but last week he left the SSE Swalec Championship promotion hopefuls.

A club statement said he had been "relieved of his duties with immediate effect" and head coach Tonkin says they are in no hurry to appoint a new man despite the need to secure a top-four spot for a return to the Principality Premiership.

He said: "We are not looking for an immediate replacement, there's no rush and we want to make sure the person is the right fit and that it's a long-term appointment.

"Whether takes two weeks or two months the important thing is bringing in the right person. In the mean time I have got experience coaching backs and we've also got experienced players like Rhys Dyer, Sam Mills, Aaron Quick, so we are in pretty good shape."

Pooler have the weekend off before returning to action in the league encounter with Bridgend Athletic at the Brewery Field the following Saturday.

The race for the top four remains intense with Pontypool keen to maintain their buffer over fifth-placed Bargoed; the champions have three games in hand but are 23 points back.

"It's a nice little break but the key is having some continuity," said Tonkin. "Hopefully there will be no more disruptions because the weather and Storm Imogen have caused some problems.

"We are struggling to get on the field for training but have been working on our strength and conditioning at WillPower Weightlifting in Pontypool. We've been doing two sessions a week with (fitness coach) Tom Dickens to make sure the foundations are there for the run-in.

"We have some crucial games coming up and we are looking forward to playing at the Brewery Field. The aim remains the same, to keep striving to get better and approach every game the same regardless of the opposition's position.

"All of the sides in this league are hard to play against – Newcastle Emlyn showed that a few weeks back by pushing us hard and they could have easily been eight to 10 points up at half-time."