NEW first team coach Josh Ward will be using his Saracens links in a bid to help Southend Saxons shine this season.

The 26-year-old works full time as a community coach with the current European champions.

And Ward believes his access to the Premiership giants has helped massively with his own coaching career.

“My full-time job is at Saracens, I’ve been there six-and-a-half years and I’ve got unbelievable access in shadowing the senior coaches there,” said Ward.

“That has been great for my own personal development and I’ve been able to mould that into the groups that I work with.

“I’ll be looking to do that at Southend and to come to a massive club like this is great.”

Ward, who is based in Ongar, spent the last two-and-a-half years coaching at Chelmsford.

But he is delighted to have now made the step up to Southend.

“It’s great to be here,” said Ward.

“I perceive Southend to be the biggest club in Essex and the new era we’re trying to create is hugely exciting.

“There’s a lot of talent within the group and we’ve complimented it with a few new faces so I’m hugely excited and we’ve had a really good five or six weeks.”

Ward will work closely alongside head coach Martin Jones at Southend.

And he is relishing the opportunity to work with the club’s new look squad after 15 players left at the end of last season.

“What’s happened before and where players have gone is irrelevant, it’s done and dusted,” said Ward.

“It’s a fresh start, which I think is exciting and the culture is building too. We have a club mission and vision which we want everyone to buy into. We have a lot of work to do but progression on last year is the main aim.”