LEIGHTON Jones has signed a new contract to be Pontypool head coach through until 2022 as the club prepare for a Premiership promotion push.

The ex-hooker was already committed until the end of next season but has penned a three-year extension.

The 39-year-old has been a roaring success since taking the Pooler hotseat in 2016, putting the plans in place to earn a pair of WRU National Championship crowns and also been influential off it.

Under Jones' control they have won 43 of 44 league matches, achieving a perfect record in the defence of their crown this season.

They have also made the quarter-finals of the WRU National Cup twice, knocking out Premiership sides Llanelli, Cardiff and Carmarthen Quins.

He is now relishing the chance to lead Pontypool beyond next season, which the club hopes will end with a third successive Championship crown and a return to the top flight.

"I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue building on the significant progress we have made as a team over the last couple of seasons and I had absolutely no hesitation in committing my long-term future to the club," said Jones.

"We have been successful in implementing positive change and establishing an honest environment with a group of people who are prepared to go into battle together has been critical to our success.

"I am really fortunate to have been surrounded by so many quality people and the success the club is currently experiencing goes well beyond my contributions, with everyone playing their part.

"We have spent the last couple of seasons building in preparation for the opportunity to earn promotion back to the Premiership, but equally, the club has the vision to look several years down the line.

"We are looking to grow in the right way and that is by continuing to develop local talent, whilst supplementing our team with quality leaders from further afield.

"This approach means that we have a team with an affinity to Pontypool and they are here for the right reasons.

"The club is in an excellent position, but it is exciting to know that we can improve so much more and I have every confidence that we will continue to build on the solid foundations already put in place in the coming years."

It was Jones' efforts in developing the route to the first team for young talent that ensured chief executive Ben Jeffreys moved quickly to sort out a contract extension.

"Leighton has instilled a set of unshakeable core values that are proving to be the bedrock that ensures we all remain focused on not only competing for honours today, but that we have the structures in place to ensure we continue to do so in an appropriate way down the line.

"What is most exciting about the club's current condition is that we are only beginning to scratch the surface of its true potential.

"That is why we were firm in committing our long-term support, not only to Leighton himself, but also his vision for how we can continue to make Pontypool RFC the beacon of Torfaen rugby.

"We are fully aware that we are entering one of the most pivotal moments in the club's history, but we consider ourselves to be a legitimate threat in achieving our long-standing aim of earning promotion back to the Premiership and I have every confidence Leighton is the right person to lead the club into this exciting challenge."

Pontypool will announce contract renewals and new recruits towards the end of the month.