CHRIS THORMAN stressed he remained focused on the job at hand with York City Knights – starting with tonight’s Co-operative Championship trip to Sheffield Eagles.

The Press revealed yesterday the Knights’ 31-year-old player-coach, above, will hang up his boots at the end of the current season to become number two to Paul Anderson at Huddersfield.

Former Great Britian prop Anderson, currently assistant to Nathan Brown at the Super League club, is to be promoted to the top job when Brown takes over at St Helens.

In an exclusive interview with The Press, Thorman said it was an offer he could not refuse, even if it meant ending his playing days prematurely and leaving a city he had come to love.

However, he still had eight games to go at the Knights helm – starting at Sheffield, the club with whom he started his professional career – and he wanted to end his three-year stint in the Minster city on a good note, by lifting the club into mid-table respectability.

“I really enjoy what I’m doing at York,” said the Geordie, who also works in the club’s community department and in the rugby league development centre at York College.

“I know results haven’t been fantastic in the first team but I feel we’re going in the right direction and building towards something really good.

“But it’s a great opportunity for me at Huddersfield and it’s the next step in my aspirations to be the best coach I can be.”

He added: “I’ve still got a job to do at York before anything else.

“I’m not going to focus on Huddersfield until I have to. York pay my wages and they’re the club that have given me an opportunity to go into coaching and I will always be grateful for that.

“It’s going to be three years of my life at York. I’ve given three years here and I would like to think they’ve been good years in terms of taking the club forward.”

Thorman played for Huddersfield in 2001 and 2002 following the Giants' merger with Sheffield and had a second spell there between 2005 and 2008, captaining them in the 2006 Challenge Cup final. He arrived at York in 2010 as a player/assistant-coach, becoming player-boss prior to the current season.

He said: “If it had been another Super League club, I’m not sure the decision would have been as easy. But I spent a lot of my playing career at Huddersfield and I know the fans, club and staff, and it makes the transition easier.

“It will be tough to retire as a player. I didn’t take that decision lightly. I think I could play for another three or four years at least, and I enjoy training and playing. It’s something I will miss and it's a downside of accepting this job, but I have to if I want to look beyond playing.”

The former England captain admitted he had been “worried” about telling Knights supremo John Guildford of his Huddersfield offer – but was quick to praise the club's hierarchy for their reactions.

“I’ve got a lot of time for John. He’s been a great guy to work with,” said Thorman.

“Ian Wilson (general manager) sometimes gets a hard time from players but he’s got the club's best interest at heart.

“I was a bit apprehensive when I told John about the offer because I felt I was letting them down but they understood and they made the decision easier, and I owe them a lot for that.

“He was brilliant. Job opportunities don’t come along very often, especially in rugby league, and I think they understood that.”