ULSTER CENTRE LUKE Marshall says that Ulster would be in ‘good hands’ as long as Neil Doak is with the province.

With Les Kiss’ interim stay as head coach nearing its conclusion, backs coach Doak has remained the front-runner to take over the reins of the side full-time.

Doak has been part of the coaching ticket since 2008 and has worked with Marshall for even longer than that. Little wonder then, that the Ballymena Academy man would seem happy for Doak to take the big gig after Kiss swaps back his red-handed hat for a green one.

“He’s obviously a very good coach. The last three or four seasons he’s sort of running the show with Ulster behind the scenes with our plays, patterns and style of play,” Marshall told TheScore.ie.

“For me personally, I’ve worked with him since I was at school, and he ran the sub-academy while I was at school as well, so I know him pretty well.

“He’s a top class coach and I think – whatever position he gets – Ulster are going to be in a good place.”

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