WOLVES captain Adrian Morley believes Tony Smith will be hungry to prove his doubters wrong on his return to club management.

England head coach Smith was confirmed as Warrington’s new head of rugby and coaching today, as the club look to kick-start their stuttering season.

An unqualified success as a Super League coach, Smith won two Super League titles and the World Club Challenge during a four-year spell at Leeds Rhinos.

But his time as England coach has not run quite so smoothly, with the 42-year-old came in for some heavy criticism after the national team put in a poor showing at last year’s World Cup.

Morley featured heavily in an England team that lost three of their four games before exiting at the semi-final stage.

Despite that disappointment, the 31-year-old prop’s faith in Smith’s ability has not waned and he believes the Australian’s experiences at the World Cup will make him more determined to succeed at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

“I have a good working relationship with him, I rate him as a coach and I think he will do well,” said Morley.

“He’s a great coach. The World Cup last year probably tarnished his relationship slightly but if you take that out of the equation, he’s been a success wherever he’s gone.

“It’s a good challenge for Tony and I’m sure he was champing at the bit to get back into club rugby.

“I’m sure he’ll want to go out there and prove some of his critics wrong.”

Smith’s first game in charge will be Sunday’s Super League clash with Leeds Rhinos at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, kick off 3pm.

It is fitting Smith should make his return to the club game against the team he guided to glory and Morley, himself a former Leeds player, is predicting a spicy encounter.

He said: “There will be a little more added incentive now for the boys to go out and have a dig.

“We are playing the reigning champions anyway so we wouldn’t have needed motivation but this will just give the game a little bit of added spice.”