COUGARS winger Andy Gabriel has revealed how the desire and ambition of new boss Craig Lingard persuaded him to pen a new deal at Cougar Park.

Gabriel, who broke Nick Pinkney’s club record for scoring in consecutive matches in 2015, is one of a number of players to have committed themselves to Keighley in the wake of Lingard being appointed as Paul March’s successor.

The pacy wideman has yet to even meet his new boss, who has arrived on a two-year deal having spent the past seasons as assistant to John Kear at Batley.

But Gabriel, a product of Bradford amateur outfit Odsal Sedbergh, explained: “I listened to Craig’s interview and read what he has said since being appointed and I've been very impressed.

“Batley have had a great year and by all accounts Craig has played a big part in that.

“He has said that he wants to play nice, expansive rugby and that should suit me as a winger. You want to get early ball and I think that's what I missed out on this season when I did play.

“Craig has said he wants to build a young squad and that is what’s needed at Keighley.

“I've not met him yet, but spoken to him a couple of times and I'm looking forward to working with him.”

The Hawkyard brothers – Ritchie and Darren – penned deals this week to stay with Cougars next season, while Matty Bailey, Danny Lawton, Liam Darville and Sean Kelly have also signed up.

Furthermore, Ben Sagar and Sean Hesketh have returned to Keighley and Lingard has also signed Oxford hooker Nathan Kitson.

Sagar departed Cougars following relegation from the Championship in 2014 to take a break from the sport in order to spend more with his family and focus on his career away from the game.

Hesketh returns to the club for a second spell after two years at Batley while Kitson is a highly regarded product of Bradford amateurs Dudley Hill.

Gabriel, meanwhile, had options elsewhere as he revealed: “I was in talks with York but there was never really any offer there and I was happy to stay at Keighley.

“It's a two to three-year project and is not going to happen overnight.

“With a young squad coming through, we can build on that and are certainly going in the right direction. We are signing well and it looks good.

“There are a lot of players from this season who are staying at the club and signing new deals.

“Moving forward next year will be good and we will have players who want to be there. We haven't got to where we wanted to be.

“A lot of stuff has happened at the club and it has been hard for everyone there.

“Like Marchy said, there have been a lot of downs with the loss of Jonesy obviously the biggest blow last year.

“We bounced back from that and then lost in the promotion final to Swinton.

“For me personally, I've enjoyed my time there, even though we haven't got to where we need to be.

“I have learnt a lot and I've been here for a couple of years now.”

Cougars are understood to have held talks with former Bradford hooker Nathan Conroy, who is leaving Dewsbury and has a number of options available to him.

Another player on Lingard’s radar is Swinton half-back Matty Beharall, who came through the academy at Hull KR and has also enjoyed a stint at Newcastle Thunder.

Cougars are also waiting to discover if brothers Ritchie and Darren Hawkyard will sign new deals at the club.

Aaron Ollett is set to join Dewsbury and Jamel Goodall has agreed a switch to Castleford.

It has been confirmed that Adam Mitchell will continue as Cougars strength and conditioning coach.