MARK Tainton will swap his tracksuit for pinstripes next season as he takes up a role of Bristol Rugby’s chief operations officer after leading them as head coach for the latter part of the previous campaign.

The man who led Irish province Connacht from also-rans to serious challengers in the Guinness Pro12, Samoan legend Pat Lam, will be joining Bristol as the new head coach later this month.

But, as Bristol look to again win the Championship to gain promotion back to the Aviva Premiership in twelve months’ time, Tainton believes the club must invest in their youth.

Tainton, who was the club’s acting head coach from November last year after the sacking of ex-England and Scotland boss Andy Robinson, told Bristol Rugby TV: “I have coached for twenty-odd years so this role is a new challenge for me and one I am looking forward to.

“I am looking forward also to working with Pat Lam and his new coaching team. Having spoken to them, I am very excited by what they can bring to Bristol Rugby and the style they want to play.”

Last season, Bristol tried to combine youth with the experience of internationals like Welsh Test men Gavin Henson and Ian Evans plus England back row forward Jordan Crane.

But it did not work out and they were relegated having won just three out of 22 matches.

Now, with Lam bringing some big-time players to Ashton Gate, including Auckland Blues number eight Steve Luatua, who started in yesterday’s 22-16 victory for his New Zealand side over the British and Irish Lions at Eden Park.

And the squad will also include local youngsters like fly-half Billy Searle, who had a good Premiership campaign last season.

Tainton added: “I have had many conversations (with Lam) about the academy and the age profile of the team. We need to make the club sustainable and we need to do that by bringing young players through.

“That is going to be a big focus. I was delighted last season with the number of academy players who broke into the senior squad like Billy, Sam Jefferies and Andy Uren.

“Pat and I have met on a regular basis and he is an impressive person. He is very driven, he has a clear identity of where he wants to take the club and I think he is going to produce some good rugby for our supporters to watch.”

The big carrot for Bristol next season is that the much-criticised Championship play-off system, where the top four go for promotion to the Premiership, has been scrapped.

Had that happened in past years, Bristol, who were relegated from the Premiership in the 2008/09 season, would have gone straight back up in 2009/10 season as they topped the table ahead of Exeter Chiefs, who beat the Bristolians in the two-legged play-off final.

Ironically, the Chiefs won the Premiership for the first time last month by beating Wasps while Bristol went the other way.

Tainton added: “It is important to know that next season, every game counts. There are no play-offs so we are going to give it one hundred per cent to try to get Bristol back to where we believe – and I believe – we should be.”