THE turbulent times at Newport Saracens have continued with Matthew Back coming on board as head coach and former Wales and Lions star Bobby Windsor leaving after just one game with the club.

Sarries hope to steady the ship with the appointment of highly-rated Back, who left his role as chief with Division One East rivals Caerphilly earlier this season.

The former Wales full-back will work with brothers Julian and Matthew Burt, who have seen their temporary appointments as forwards and backs coaches respectively rubber-stamped.

Sarries have made an awful start to the season and have just one losing bonus point to their name after six fixtures.

“It has been a pretty wretched start and confidence is pretty low,” admitted Back, who had a role with Cross Keys in the Premiership before his spell at Virginia Park.

“We had a clear the air meeting on Tuesday and after that we have decided on the way forward.

“But it is all about building it up and looking to kick on after the break for the internationals in November.

“The big thing is making sure we are competitive, because that hasn’t been the case in the last couple of games.

"With that competitive edge comes results and we need to get that feel-good factor back and have the boys enjoying their rugby.

”The upheaval at the Maesglas-based club comes after the resignation of coaches Paul Evans, Matthew Evans and Phil Booth.

Windsor headed back to his first club to act as team manager but his spell lasted just one fixture - last weekend’s 26-0 loss to Llanharan.

Club secretary Mark Leverson said: “Bobby is no longer with us after having a difference of opinion on the way forward. He felt he could no longer continue so ended his temporary role assisting us.

“It has been a traumatic couple of weeks but hopeful the appointment of Matthew will settle everything down.

“He has wide-ranging contacts in the game and that will help bolster our squad, which is important because several senior players have decided to call time on their Sarries careers.

“Matthew is an innovative coach with a good pedigree both on and off the pitch so we are delighted that he has decided to join us.”

Back starts his reign with a home fixture against table-toppers Merthyr this afternoon, which is followed by games with Uwic on October 25 and Bargoed on November 1 before the league takes a break until December.